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V 



LIVES 

OF THE 

MOST EMINENT SOVEREIGNS 

OF 

iUobcru (fnropc. 

— 

BY LORD^DOVER, 

FOR THE INSTRUCTION AND AMUSEMENT OF HIS SON. 

WITH 

ADDITIONAL ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR. 




FROM THE SECOND LONDON EDITION. 



NEW YORK: 
PUBLISHED BY A. V. BLAKE. 



^%si^ ^-t^Z^^ 



^ ' si 



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vol 
4 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by 

A. V. BLAKE, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and 
for the Southern District of New York. 



JT^ 






CONTENTS. 



gustavus adolphus, king of sweden 
John Sobieski, king of Poland 
Peter the Great, czar of Russia 
Frederic the Great, king of Prussia 
Anecdotes of Frederic the Great 



page 
13 

76 

143 

207 
^53 




GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

KING OF SWEDEN. 

It is for the most part the fate of those who 
undertake to chronicle the actions of heroes, to be 
compelled to balance the bright and shining passages 
in their career against those dark and repulsive 
qualities which are also usually found in the cha- 
racters of conspicuous warriors, and which not 
unfrequently even outweigh their merits. This 
2 13 



24 GUSTAVUS ADOXPHUS, 

ungracious duty will however occur less frequently 
to the historian of Gustavus Adolphus than of any 
other conqueror ; for to none of the great men of 
modern times does it belong to exhibit to the ob- 
servation of history so few faults, or so many virtues. 
Gustavus Adolphus was the grandson of the- 
great Gustavus Vasa, who having delivered his 
country, in the year 1523, from the oppression of 
Christian II., king of Denmark, was declared king 
of Sweden by the states of that country. Upon the 
death of Gustavus Vasa, in 1560, his eldest son Eric 
ascended the throne. Eric died in 1568, and was 
succeeded by his next brother, John, who reigned 
till 1592. Upon his death, the states elected Sigis- 
mond, king of Poland, his eldest son, to succeed him ; 
but Sigismond failed in every way in fulfilling their 
hopes, and sought to render Sweden a tributary pro- 
vince of Poland. He was therefore deposed in 1599, 
and his son Wladislaus, an infant six months old, 
elected in his stead, upon condition that he should 
be sent to Stockholm and educated there. This 
stipulation not having been fulfilled, the states in 
1601 deposed Wladislaus, and elected Charles, duke 
of Sudermania, third son of Gustavus Vasa, and fa- 
ther of Gustavus Adolphus, who took the name of 
Charles the Ninth. This prince was twice married ; 
first, to Anna Maria, daughter of Lewis, Elector Pa- 
latine — and secondly, to Christina, daughter of Adol- 



KING OF SWEDEN. 15 

pfrus, duke of Holstein and Sleswic, by whom he 
became the father of Gustavus Adolphus, on the 9th 
of December, 1594. 

The education of Gustavus was calculated t® 
render him a warrior, for, while the learning of those 
times was carefully instilled into his mind, his frame 
was inured to hardships of all kinds, and became 
alike indifferent to heat and cold ; and at the same 
lime his limbs were rendered active by various kinds 
of gymnastic exercises. Early in his childhood he 
learned the duties of a common musketeer ; and at 
the age of sixteen he made a campaign against the 
Danes, in which he greatly distinguished himself 
both for valour and conduct. 

In 1611, died Charles the Ninth, the last act of 
whose life was a challenge to single combat sent by 
him to Christian the Fourth, king of Denmark, with 
whom he was at war. The Danish monarch, with 
a good sense, superior to that of his age, replied, that 
u the proposal was more that of a knight-errant than 
a sovereign, nor could he see the glory for a middle- 
aged man to put to death an old one, whom nature 
would take care to remove out of the way very soon." 
Charles, in fact, expired a few weeks after receiving 
this answer to his cartel. On his death-bed he was 
told that the Swedish general, De la Gardie, had 
obtained considerable successes in Russia, and had 
thus paved the way for the advancement of his 



16 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHtTS, 

younger* son to be czar of that country. At this 
he showed no emotion, but turning calmly and with 
an affectionate look to Gustavus, who was standing 
by his bedside, he said, " 1 have resigned all worldly 
cares into better hands." By the will of Charles, 
his widow, the queen Christina, and John, duke of 
Ostrogothia, the second son of John, elder brothei 
of Charles the Ninth, were declared guardians of the 
young Gustavus, who wanted some months of the 
age prescribed by the laws of Sweden as the epoch 
of the majority of princes/f" 

On the assembling of the states for the purpose of 
electing a king, the public feeling having been already 
very generally expressed in favour of Gustavus, John, 
duke of Ostrogothia, commenced the proceedings, be- 
coming forward and declaring his determination of 
waiving his claims to the crown in favour of his 
cousin. This was followed by a modest declaration 
of Gustavus, acknowledging his own youth and in- 
experience, and his consequent unfitness to undertake 
the government of the kingdom, but promising, 
should the states still think proper to choose him, to 
preserve the laws of the kingdom, and the rights of 
the subject inviolate — to cherish and follow the re- 

* Charles Philip, only brother of Gustavus Ado!phu9. born 
1600; died at Narva, January 25, 1622, without having been 
czar of Muscovy. 

t Princes in Sweden are considered to be of ago as soon as 
they have commenced their eighteenth year. 



KING OF SWEDEN. 17 

Formed religion — and " to endeavour to acquit him* 
self, in all respects, with honour, magnanimity, and 
fidelity." Few inaugural promises of sovereigns 
have ever been so well -or so exactly kept during 
their reigns, as were these by the Swedish monarch-. 
The assembly concluded by the election and inau- 
guration of Gustavus Adolphus on the last day of 
the year 1611. 

The political prospects of the young king at the 
commencement of his reign Avere not cheering. He 
found himself at war with Denmark and Muscovy- 
while Sigismond, king of Poland, unmindful of the 
ties of relationship, was prepared to do all the injury 
in his power to his cousin and his kingdom. Almost 
the first act of sovereignty of Gustavus was the ap- 
pointment of the celebrated Oxenstiern to the office 
of chancellor, and the duties of prime minister of 
Sweden — a choice^, the wisdom of which was fully 
proved by experience. 

James the First, king of England, whose meddling 
pedantry was always on the watch to find out op- 
portunities for showing his self-imagined talents for 
diplomacy, took the occasion of the accession of 
Gustavus to send Sir James Spence to Stockholm, 
with an offer of mediation on the part of his master 
between Denmark and Sweden. The. young king 
accepted the pompous offers of pacification sent him 
by the king of Great Britain ; but showed his wisdom 



18 GUSTAVU9 ADOLPHUS, 

at the same time by putting his trust in " his own 
right arm," and in the valour of his troops. Thus 
while James and his ambassadors were splitting hairs 
with the Swedish and Danish ministers, Gustavus 
early in the year 1612 took the field in person, and 
commenced his operations by the successful siege of 
Elsenberg. This enterprise was followed up by an 
invasion of Norway, which was, however, interrupted 
by the news Gustavus received that the king of Po- 
land had entered the province of Carelia, a part of 
Livonia, which had been acquired to Sweden by the 
late king Charles. The Swedish king's appearance 
in Carelia put a stop to the attempts of his enemies; 
but while he was thus employed, Christian, king of 
Denmark, took occasion of his absence to obtain 
possession of Elsenberg and Golzberg. He then 
penetrated sixty miles into the country, and laid siege 
to Jencop. Gustavus ordered the governor of that 
place to ruin the fortifications of the town, which he 
could not defend, and retire into the citadel. A ju- 
dicious measure, which delayed the advance of the 
Danish king. The advantages on both sides being 
now pretty equally balanced, and the war drawing 
out into one of defence, which wearied both com- 
manders and men, the Danish king became more in- 
clined to listen to the proposals of peace, which were 
always pressing through the intervention of the 
British plenipotentiaries. The year 1613 saw the 



KING OF S WED EX. 19 

treaty between Denmark and Sweden brought to a 
successful issue. In the following year Gustavus 
made an offensive and defensive alliance with the 
States General of Holland. 

These events enabled him to turn his undivided 
attention to the war, which was still going on on 
the side of Muscovy, and also of Poland. The fol- 
lowing year* witnessed the conclusion of the war 
with Poland, and Sigismond was even induced to join 
Gustavus in an alliance against the Muscovites. The 
principal cause of the quarrel with the czar consisted 
in his refusal to repay to Sweden a sum of money 
which had been advanced by the latter power to 
Russia in a time of distress. Provoked by such in- 
gratitude and dishonesty, Gustavus, early in the year 
1615, entered and took possession of the province of 
Ingria — made himself master, by storm, of the fort 
of Kexholm — and laid siege to the strong place of 
Plesko.* He, also, during the summer, obtained pos- 
session of the impregnable castle of Notterberg, situ- 
ated on a small island at the mouth of the Narva. 
This undertaking was blamed by all his generals as 
hopeless ; but Gustavus persisted — landed at the head 
of his troops — and the place surrendered by compo- 
sition. In it was found a great store of provisions 
and ammunition. Towards the end of the campaign, 

* 1614. 



20 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

and when Plesko was upon the point of falling into 
his hands, Gustavus gave a proof of his moderation 
and his desire for peace by abandoning his conquest 
at the desire of the English plenipotentiaries, who 
were still mediating between the contending powers. 
Upon this occasion he wrote to Sir John Merrick to 
the following effect—" I have reduced the place to 
the very point of capitulating : but notwithstanding 
all my fatigues, expenses, and military losses, upon 
condition the Muscovites be duly and justly restrained 
for times to come, I lay my glory a sacrifice at the 
feet of England, with a view to convince mankind in 
general, that I waged this war not from motives of 
ambition, (for my territories are sufficiently large and 
powerful,) but from actual compulsion, and the ne- 
cessity of things. It ever hath been, and is still my 
inclination to cultivate peace and friendship with my 
neighbours. This, upon just and honourable terms, 
is most congenial to my natural temper : but if a law- 
ful war is not to be healed by conciliatory and re- 
putable measures, I am then ready to continue it with 
resolution."* These just and wise and temperate sen- 
timents, followed up as they were by corresponding 
actions, are singularly honourable in the mouth of a 
prince, by nature warlike and impetuous, and then 
only in the twenty-first year of his age. 

* Dated from Narva, Nov. 30, 1615. — Loccenius. 



21 KING OF SWEDEN*. 

The year 1616 was entirely taken up with the 
negotiations with the Russians — and in 1617, a 
treaty between the two nations was concluded at 
Stolba. This was ratified and completed in the 
following year, by the mediation of England and 
Holland. Gustavus now devoted himself more in- 
tently than he had been able previously to do, to the 
internal improvements of his kingdom, and to the 
regulations of his university of Upsal, in which he 
took great interest.* His decisions with regard to 
this seat of learning were not, however, it must be 
confessed, always dictated by that sound sense, which 
upon other occasions usually distinguished the 
monarch. In consequence of Poland being at this 
period considered the country of science, Gustavus 
was induced to publish an edict against metaphysics, 
which he forbade to be taught in his university. 
This was followed by a law, forbidding young men 
to study in foreign places of education, without the 
special leave of the Swedish government. These 
narrow-minded, and at the same time useless 
measures, are indefensible ; but the excuse for Gus- 
tavus may be found, in some degree at least, in the 
age in which he lived, when the true and sound 

* In 1625, Gustavus bestowed upon this university the patri- 
monial estate belonging to his own family of Vasa. He also, 
about the same time, founded another university at Abo ; and 
shortly before his death, a third, at Dorpat, in Livonia. 



22 GUSTAVUS AD0LPHUS, 

policy of liberality was not yet discovered or 
acknowledged. 

It was during this period of his life that Gustavus 
principally applied himself to the study of military 
tactics. His days were so fully occupied in regulating 
the affairs of his kingdom, that his hours of reading 
were necessarily taken from those of sleep. He fre- 
quently passed whole nights in perusing the military 
history of the ancients, and in comparing their 
manner of warfare with that of his own time. 

The year 1617 brought to an end the ill-arranged 
peace which had been concluded with Sigismond, 
king of Poland. That prince, whose enmity to 
Gustavus, however at times concealed, was never 
extinguished, was engaged in a course of intrigues 
for driving his cousin from the throne of Sweden, in 
order to reinstate himself upon it. In these he was 
also encouraged by Austrian emissaries, who gave 
him hopes of receiving money and troops from 
Vienna, to enable him to reconquer Sweden. Gus- 
tavus bore for some time with these proceedings, but 
finding that his forbearance only augmented the 
malevolence of Sigismond, he determined at once to 
attack him, before he had time to make his prepara- 
tions. With this design he suddenly invaded Li- 
vonia, and took possession of a considerable portion 
of that province. Sigismond, who was at this time 
sorely oppressed on the other frontier of his domi- 



KIN<3 OF SWEDEN. 23 

nions by Bethlem Gabor, prince of Transylvania, 
assisted by the Turks and Tartars, implored from 
the generosity of Gustavus a truce for two years. 
The latter, hoping that his cousin had returned to 
better feelings towards him, readily granted his re- 
quest ; but in the subsequent year he was obliged to 
recommence hostilities, Sigismond having continued 
his hostile intrigues as soon as Gustavus' army was 
no longer in his territories. 

Jn the year 1620, Gustavus made a journey, in- 
cognito, through the principal towns in Germany ; 
and concluded his tour by visiting the court of Ber- 
lin, in order that he might see the young princess 
of Brandenburgh, whom he intended to marry. 
Maria Eleonora, the sister of George William, the 
then elector of Brandenburgh, and daughter of the 
elector John Sigismond, was a woman of moderate 
abilities, but possessed of considerable firmness of 
mind, and of exemplary good conduct. Gustavus 
was so entirely satisfied with what he saw of this 
princess, that he shortly afterwards married her, and 
carried her to Stockholm, where she was crowned, 
in the month of November, 1620.* 

During all these years of his reign, which pre- 

* By his queen the only offspring of Gustavus was Christina, 
who after his death was declared queen of Sweden ; and who 
has become celebrated in history from her talents, her eccen- 
tricities, her vices, and her crimes. 



24 GLMTAVLS ADOLPHL.S, 

ceded his invasion of Germany, Gustavus was inde- 
fatigable in improving the laws and internal regula- 
tions of his kingdom* — in fostering and enlarging his 
navy — and, above all, in preparing his army for the 
arduous contests they were destined to be engaged 
in. With this view he formed an entirely new sys- 
tem of military discipline, the result of his studies 
of the best military authors, as well as of his own 
observation and experience. The arms of his troops 
were also much improved both in lightness and 
efficiency; and in order to obtain the double benefit 
of employing and enriching his people, and of having 
a constant supply of arms, he instituted manufactures 
of guns, swords, pikes, &c, in different parts of his 
kingdom. Previous to the establishment of these, 
the Swedes were obliged to send to Italy and Spain 
for their steel arms. 

The next remarkable event in the career of Gus- 
tavus was the undertaking of the siege of Riga, the 
capital city of Livonia — a town of much trade, well 
fortified, and defended by a strong garrison. The 
commencement of his expedition was unfavourable to 
the Swedish monarch; for a violent storm w T hich his 
fleet encountered at the mouth of the Dwina, the 
river on which Riga is situated, dispersed and shat- 
tered it. But after a short delay he, with the assist- 

* He was particularly anxious to abridge the time and ex- 
pense of lawsuits, in which to a great degree he succeeded. 



KING OF SWEDEN. 25 

ance of his admirals, contrived to reunite it — and 
then, having successfully and with great skill effected 
the landing of his troops, amounting to twenty-four 
thousand men, he invested the city. Riga was soon 
strictly blockaded by land and water — nor could the 
prince Radzivil, the general of the king of Poland, 
who was sent to its relief, ever contrive to break 
through the lines which Gustavus had drawn round 
it. The garrison and inhabitants defended them- 
selves with courage and conduct, and probably would 
have done so with success, had not the personal 
exertions of Gustavus urged the besiegers to a degree 
of perseverance and enthusiasm which nothing could 
resist. The Swedish king went through very great 
dangers in the course of this siege, and several times 
narrowly escaped destruction ; for where the severest 
resistance was expected, there was he always to be 
found at the head of his troops ; besides which, he 
exposed his person to imminent risk in the various 
observations of the town he considered himself 
obliged to take. Nor did he confine his labours to 
those of a leader and general. Frequently was he 
to be seen stripped to his shirt, and at work in the 
trenches with pickaxe and shovel, in order by these 
means to encourage his soldiers in these works. 
Thus the siege continued for some time, with great 
losses on both sides. Gustavus, anxious to put a 
stop to the effusion of blood, more than once made 
3 



28 GUSTAVUS AD0LPHUS, 

offers of a very advantageous kind to the inhabitants, 
if they would capitulate ; but his generosity was 
taken for weakness, and therefore repelled with con- 
tempt. At length the inhabitants, after a defence 
of six weeks, perceiving preparations making for 
a general assault, and aware they could not hope 
successfully to resist it, offered to surrender. Gus- 
tavus, though he was aware of their feebleness, 
and also knew the injurious manner in which they 
had spoken of himself during the siege, readily 
granted them honourable terms, and agreed to per- 
mit them to consider themselves on the same footing 
with the rest of his subjects. As soon as Gustavus 
entered the town, he went to the great church of St. 
Peter, and there on his knees returned thanks to God, 
" who had given him the victory." When the ma- 
gistracy were introduced to him, and endeavoured to 
apologize for their resistance, he told them, "He 
never desired nor expected better conduct from them 
than they had shown towards their former master : 
upon which account he should not only preserve 
their privileges, but augment them." The first act 
of sovereignty performed by Gustavus in Riga Avas 
the banishment of the Jesuits from that town : he 
then proceeded with fourteen thousand men to Mit- 
tau, the capital and residence of the duke of Cour- 
land, of which he made himself master. Upon the 
humble petition of the duke, Gustavus agreed to re- 



KIXG OF SWEDEN'. 27 

store the town to him on certain conditions. These 
successes of the Swedes obliged Sigismond to re- 
quest a truce of a year,* which was granted to him. 
In 1623, Sigismond showed again a disposition to 
recommence hostilities, and with this view arrived at 
Dantzic for the purpose of arranging an invasion of 
Sweden. While he was there, Gustavus, who had 
penetrated his designs, arrived at the head of sixty- 
six ships at the mouth of the port of Dantzic. The 
sight of this considerable armament had such an 
effect upon Sigismond, that he relinquished his hostile 
plans, and implored a continuation of the truce till 
the year 1625. In that year the war recommenced 
by the invasion by Gustavus of Livonia. There he 
first made himself master of Hohenhausen, a strong 
fortress near the Dwina; and subsequently of the 
towns of Selburg, Duneburg, and Dorpat. In a short 
time he was master of all the considerable places in 
the province, with the exception of Dunamond. He 
also met and cut to pieces a detachment which was 
on its march to surprise Riga; and afterwards com- 
pletely routed the Polish army, near the same town 
under the command of the prince Sapieha, who was 
killed in the conflict. Gustavus then threw a bridge 
over the river Dwina, and entered the duchies of 
Semigallia and Courland, in both of which he made 
himself master of several fortresses. 
* 1622. 



28 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

Always moderate and reasonable, even during his 
greatest successes, the king of Sweden now deputed 
Oxenstiern and two other plenipotentiaries to offer a 
renewal of peace to Sigismond — but they were able 
to effect nothing. This fruitless negotiation was fol- 
lowed by a battle between the two armies on the 
plains of Semigallia, near the village of WalhofT. 
Gustavus, as usual, commanded his own troops in 
person; and those of the Poles were led by prince 
Leo Sapieha, the father of the one who met his fate 
near Riga. Gustavus placed himself in the centre, 
and animated his troops by his presence and example — 
and the event of the battle was not long dubious. In 
spite of the superiority of the Polish cavalry, which 
was enabled to manoeuvre as it pleased in the open 
plains, the army of Sigismond soon gave way, and 
the Swedes obtained the victory. The Poles lost 
their artillery, baggage, many standards, numerous 
prisoners, and one thousand six hundred men slain 
on the field of battle. It is said, that before the en- 
gagement, Gustavus sent a trumpeter to Sapieha, with 
a short message to the effect, "That as there were 
two such things in the world as peace and war, he 
made him the compliment of allowing him to choose 
that which he preferred most." To this Sapieha re- 
plied — " That his only ambition and desire was to 
make a fair trial with his majesty on equal ground." 
Again, after his victory, did the moderate Gustavus 



KING OF SWEDEN. 29 

offer peace to his enemy — and again was his pro- 
posal refused. Sigismond convened an extraordinary- 
diet at Warsaw, to consider of the best methods of 
recovering his lost provinces. Meanwhile Gustavus, 
as he was forced to continue the war, was more 
usefully employed in planning an invasion of Polish 
Prussia. 

In the month of February, 1626, long before the 
usual time of opening a campaign in those northern 
climates, and while it was universally thought that 
Gustavus was preparing for a second invasion of Li- 
vonia, that prince embarked an army of twenty-six 
thousand men, in one hundred and fifty ships, and 
steered into the harbour of Pillau, a town garrisoned 
by the troops of the elector of Brandenburgh. Pillau 
was delivered over to the Swedes without resistance, 
and Gustavus having landed his troops, marched them 
into Polish Prussia. Here he took several towns 
and fortresses, and among others, the city of Elbing, 
which capitulated without much resistance. While 
the burgomaster and one of the king's generals were 
signing the act of surrender in the royal tent, Gus- 
tavus gave a proof of his contempt of danger, by 
walking up to one of the town gates alone, and re- 
questing the citizens to admit him upon friendly terms. 
On their doing so, he apologized to them for not 
being better dressed : and having strolled through 
several of the streets, followed by crowds, he at 
3* 



30 GUSTAVCS ADOLPHUS, 

length entered a bookseller's shop, and asked for a 
copy of Buchanan's poems. 

The ultimate end proposed by Gustavus, in this 
campaign, was to gain possession of Dantzic ; and 
as he took town after town, and approached nearer 
and nearer to it, Sigismond at length began to feel 
that it was necessary for him to take a more active 
part than he had hitherto done in opposing his pro- 
gress. With this view, he collected an army of 
thirty thousand men, and advanced to Graudentz, on 
the Vistula. Here he found Gustavus in possession 
of all the fortresses near Dantzic, as well as of the 
course of the river. The generals of Sigismond soon 
saw that their only chance of doing any good to their 
cause was by bringing the Swedes to a general en- 
gagement. They therefore laid siege to a small town 
called Me we. This, as they had foreseen, obliged 
their enemies to advance to its relief \ and thus a 
very bloody engagement was commenced, which 
lasted with intervals for two days. The troops on 
both sides behaved with courage, but the issue of the 
afiair was, that the Poles, though for the moment 
they kept possession of the field of battle, raised the 
siege of Mewe, and retreated. During the battle, 
Gustavus had twice fallen into the enemies' hands. 
The second time that this accident happened to him, 
he was delivered by the presence of mind of a 
Swedish soldier of cavalry. The man, in order to 



KING OF SWEDEN. 31 

conceal Gustavus' real quality, called out to the 
Poles, " Have a care of yourselves, for we will rescue 
my brother !" — and then charging them with a few 
of his companions, performed what he had threatened. 
Shortly afterwards Gustavus saw that his deliverer was, 
in his turn, made a prisoner ; upon which he put him- 
self at the head of a few horsemen, and brought him 
safely off, saying, at the same time, "Now, brother 
soldier, we are upon equal terms, for the obligation is 
reciprocal." After the battle, Gustavus entered the 
town, and praised and rewarded the fidelity and bravery 
of the garrison and inhabitants. In the evening, the 
officers assembled to prayers at the king's lodgings, 
as was usual af.er any success. Botwid, the king's 
chaplain, who had been employed at his devotions 
during the contest, congratulated his majesty on its 
success. To which Gustavus replied, "That he 
could not help feeling confident of the good issue of 
the battle, when he knew that Moses was assisting 
him with his prayers on the mount." 

On his return after the campaign to his capital, 
Gustavus employed himself in devising schemes for 
improving and extending the commerce of his sub- 
jects. It was also at this time that he published an 
edict in favour of oppressed and persecuted Protest- 
ants in all countries, whom he hereby invited to 
Sweden, and promised to them various immunities 
and advantages. Gustavus, during the winter, also 



32 GUSTAVUS AD0LPHUS, 

augmented his army very considerably; but, while 
the weather was still too inclement to allow of his 
transporting them to Pillau, he had the misfortune of 
hearing that a body of his troops, which he had left 
near the town of Putzka, had fallen into the hands 
of the enemy ; who had also made themselves mas- 
ters of Putzka and the surrounding territory. 

Early in May, 1627, however, Gustavus reached 
the scene of action, where the Polish troops were 
already arrived under the command of Conospo- 
liski, an officer of merit and activity. Gustavus 
commenced the campaign by obtaining possession 
of the fortress of Kesmark; while on the same 
day he defeated a large detachment of Poles who 
were marching to its relief. Shortly after this the 
Poles attacked Gustavus' camp, which occasioned a 
battle, in which the Poles were repulsed with loss. 
In this engagement Gustavus was wounded in the 
elbow, which so terrified his principal generals and 
followers, that they united in beseeching him for the 
future to take more care of his personal safety. But 
Gustavus answered them with equal modesty and 
courage, "You should remember that the Divine 
power will continue the same when I am gone ; nor 
can I consider myself so indispensably necessary for 
the preservation of my kingdom as you, from a kind 
prepossession in my favour, are inclined to imagine. 
If the Supreme Being shall be pleased to dispose of 



KING OF SWEDEN". 33 

me in the day of battle, he will doubtless raise up 
some other support to the crown of Sweden. But as 
that selfsame being hath committed this important 
charge to me, it is my business to perforin it without 
any views of favouring myself: and if death be my 
portion in the event of war, how can a king die more 
gloriously than in the justification and defence of his 
people." Gustavus was obliged to return to Stock- 
holm to take care of his wound, leaving his army 
under the command of Count Thurn ; while a body 
of imperial troops, under the command of Adolphus, 
duke of Holstein, added themselves to the forces of 
Sigismond. 

Early in the spring of 1628, Gustavus again em- 
barked from Stockholm, with the reinforcements for 
his army, and a naval force of thirty-three vessels. 
After some inconsiderable skirmishes with ships from 
Dantzic, and also with a part of the Polish navy, 
whom he met by the way, Gustavus landed his troops, 
and took possession of an island in the river near 
Dantzic, which enabled him the more completely to 
blockade the town. His fleet at the same time block- 
aded the mouth of the harbour. They were, how- 
ever, soon driven from this post with loss by the 
Dantzic vessels, and were obliged to take refuge in 
the port of Pillau. Gustavus, meanwhile, had by 
land obtained a considerable advantage over the 
Polish general Conospoliski, who lost in the engage- 



34 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

ment three thousand men, some guns and colours, 
and was himself severely wounded. The Swedish 
fleet also did not continue long in inactivity, but, 
having received reinforcements, put to sea again, and 
having completely defeated the combined armaments 
of Dantzic and Poland, resumed its former station at 
the mouth of the harbour. The remainder of the 
campaign was spent in skirmishes, which, though 
not entirely decisive, were generally rather favourable 
to the Swedes. It is indeed probable that Gustavus 
would, during its course, have gained possession of 
Dantzic, but that he received a dangerous wound in 
the belly, which, by preventing his presence among 
them, slackened the ardour alike of his soldiers and 
generals. The rains also, which were peculiarly 
heavy this year, presented another obstacle to the 
success of the Swedes, who were finally obliged 
to break up their camp, the Vistula having over- 
flowed its banks, and to march inland. In their 
course they took the towns of Neuberg, Dribentz, 
and Strasberg — in the latter was found an immense 
booty, amounting to about six tons' weight of gold, 
which belonged to the queen of Poland and some of 
the nobles. Proceeding onwards, the town of Sweitz 
fell into their hands by storm. Incursions were even 
made into the province of Massovia, where many 
Polish ladies of rank were taken prisoners by the 
Swedish soldiers; who seemed disposed to inflict 



KING OF SWEDEN. 35 

upon them the treatment which female prisoners in 
war are too apt to be subjected to. But Gustavus, 
with his usual humanity, prevented this — telling his 
soldiers, " That those who served under his com- 
mand were to wage war and commit hostilities upon 
their own sex only, and that the ideas of a soldier 
and a perpetrator of outrages ought to carry no con- 
nexion between each other." He then restored the 
ladies to their liberty; upon the promise of their 
causing their respective ransoms to be paid. 

Farther attempts, through the mediation of the 
Dutch, were made during the course of this year to 
effect peace between Sigismond and Gustavus. But 
the imperial emissaries, who were the original 
causes of the war, still continued by their intrigues 
and their magnificent promises to deter Sigismond 
from accepting the terms offered to him. It was 
becoming every day more necessary to the courts of 
Vienna and Madrid, who were now occupied, during 
the progress of that lengthened contest which is 
commonly called the thirty years' war, in striving to 
overturn at once the Protestant religion and the 
liberties of the Germanic empire, to give employment 
to Gustavus near home — and thus to prevent him 
from throwing his powerful sword into the scale 
against them. Jn addition to this, the ambitious 
Wallenstein, who was now engaged in the siege of 
Stralsund, and whose mind was full of the dreams 



36 GUSTAVUS AD0LPHUS, 

of sovereignty for himself in the north of Germany, 
which he was preparing to realize, and for which he 
had paved the way by the usurpation of the two 
duchies of Mecklenburg, was peculiarly and person- 
ally anxious to deter Gustavus from interfering with 
his own gigantic plans. He had just vanquished the 
other king of the north, Christian of Denmark, 
whose offers of assisting the Protestants of Gennany 
had been preferred to those of Gustavus ; but he 
would have preferred that Gustavus should have 
been overcome by the Poles without trouble to him- 
self; and he hoped, as did the rest of the enemies of 
the king of Sweden, to wear out and waste his 
power, by this long continuation of hostilities. 
a But," observes an eminent historian of those times, 
" a circumstance upon which these intriguers had not 
counted, the heroic greatness of mind of Gustavus, 
tore in pieces this web of perfidious policy. The 
war of Poland, which was prolonged for a space of 
eight years, so far from exhausting the force of 
Sweden, had only served to mature the talents of 
Gustavus Adolphus as a commander, to render hardy 
the Swedish armies through a long habit of fighting, 
and to form and perfect insensibly that new art of 
war which was destined to enable them to execute 
such prodigies on the soil of Germany."* 

In furtherance of the imperial plans, the plenipoten- 

* Schiller, Histoire de la Guerre de Trentc Ans. 



KING OF SWEDEN. 37 

tiaries of Gustavus were refused admittance to the con- 
gress of Lubec, and were even threatened by Wallen- 
stein with personal violence. At this congress a peace 
was now concluding between the emperor and the 
king of Denmark, which, as has been Avell observed, 
" only cost the latter the honour of his crown" — for 
he recovered his territory of Holstein; and aban- 
doned all his former allies and engagements. In this 
contemptuous treatment of the king of Sweden, how- 
ever, the imperialists overshot their mark ; for the in- 
sult thus offered to Gustavus so exceedingly affronted 
him, that it is supposed to have been one of the 
reasons which the most weighed with him in leading 
his troops into the heart of the empire. He felt, 
however, that it would be impossible for him to 
undertake the cause of the suffering Protestants, so 
long as he had any thing to dread from the enmity 
of Poland, or from the jealousy of Denmark. With 
regard to the former, it was reserved for the Cardinal 
de Richelieu, whose one great object of abasing the 
power of the house of Austria led him to be the 
firmest supporter of Gustavus, to have the honour 
of accomplishing the long-desired truce between that 
sovereign and Sigismond. Gustavus Adolphus was 
occupied in Polish Prussia in the campaign against 
Sigismond, when Charnasse, the negotiator of the 
cardinal, appeared there. Gustavus was opposed at 
this moment by the united armies of Conospoliski, 
who commanded the troops of Sigismond, and of 



38 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 

Arnheim, who led the imperial reinforcements. 
There had lately taken place between them and the 
Swedish monarch a severe engagement near Marien- 
werder, but without any decisive issue. Early in the 
engagement, the rashness of some of Gustavus' ofTicers 
gave the advantage to the imperialists ; but the king 
restored the fortune of the day, by combating at the 
head of one of his regiments like a common soldier. 
Upon this occasion, also, Gustavus ran great risks ; 
for he received five balls in his armour, besides 
narrowly escaping being shot by Sirot, a French 
officer, the fire of whose pistol burnt the king's hair, 
and knocked his hat off. The hat was taken by the 
enemy ; and was afterwards sent by the emperor, as 
a trophy, to the shrine of Loretto ! — Charnasse em- 
ployed himself in going backwards and forwards 
between the two kings, till at length he had van- 
quished all obstacles, and a truce was concluded for 
five years, during which Gustavus was to keep 
possession of his conquests. 

With regard to Denmark, Gustavus had a personal 
interview with Christian, in which he received from 
that sovereign assurances of friendship. He then put 
his frontiers on the side of Muscovy into a state of 
defence; entered into negotiations with Gabor, 
prince of Transylvania, the irreconcilable enemy 
of the Austrian name ; and commenced the other 
necessary preparations for the great enterprise he 
had undertaken. The state of Germany, at present, 



KING OF SWEDEN. 39 

was this — the power of the emperor was every- 
where predominant. His generals, the ferocious 
Tilly, the bloody Pappenheim, the ambitious Maxi- 
milian of Bavaria ; and VVallenstein, in whom all 
these qualities were more peculiarly united, had all, 
in different parts of the empire, been successful in 
vanquishing his enemies — in crushing the power of 
the Protestants — and in laying waste, with every 
circumstance of cruelty, the territories alike of friends 
and foes. Wallenstein, whose power and insolence 
had given umbrage to the imperial court, was now in 
disgrace ; and Maximilian of Bavaria, having com- 
pleted his task, and received his reward in the pos- 
session of the territories of his unhappy cousin, the 
Elector Palatine, and the acquisition of the electoral 
dignity, was no longer in the field. But Tilly and 
Pappenheim, at the head of a vast, hardy, lawless, 
and supposed invincible army, were completing the 
measure of their cruelties and exactions, under the 
pretext of enforcing the emperor's edict of restitution, 
which had just been made public. 

Ferdinand of Gratz, who now filled the imperial 
throne, was a prince of the most inflexible haughti- 
ness and severity. He was by nature totally averse 
to mercy, and his natural disposition was increased 
by his blind and excessive bigotry. He was accus- 
tomed to say, that " if he were to meet an angel 
and a priest by the way, the priest should receive 
his first act of reverence, and the angel his second." 



40 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 



From such a monk-ridden sovereign of the seven- 
teenth century nothing was to be expected by the 
Protestant part of Germany but the harshest measures. 
For, according to Ferdinand's ideas respecting the 
persecution of heretics, the end was sure to sanctify 
the means, whatever they might be. No sooner 
therefore had his generals and troops reinstated 
his affairs, and given him the decided ascendency 
over his enemies, than he put forth, in the year 1629, 
the celebrated Act of Restitution. By this act 
Ferdinand decided, that " all seizures of ecclesiastical 
property, mediate or immediate, made by the Pro- 
testants since the epoch of the peace of religion, was 
contrary to the sense of that peace, and was to be 
considered as an infraction of the same." The edict 
also declared, that the Catholic princes were obliged 
to nothing by the said peace but to allow to their 
Protestant subjects the power of leaving their terri- 
tories. These and various other equally vexatious 
clauses were ordered to be forthwith carried into 
execution by the imperial troops. These measures 
affected, more or less, all the Protestant princes, 
whose revenues were, in a great degree, drawn from 
the confiscated property of the Catholic church ; 
but so low was the courage of the Protestants of 
Germany sunk at this time, that neither the injuries 
they were about to surfer, nor the total illegality of 
the whole proceeding could rouse them to resistance. 
This was the moment fixed upon by Gustavus for 



fclNG OF SWEDEN. 41 

his expedition. Fifteen thousand men were all that 
the king intended to take with him — they were em- 
barked on board two hundred transports, and were 
accompanied by a fleet of thirty ships of war. On 
the 20th of May, 1630, all the necessary prepara- 
tions were made — and the king, having appointed a 
regency, and regulated all his affairs like a dying 
man, took leave of the states of the kingdom, who 
were assembled at Stockholm to receive his solemn 
adieu. Upon this occasion he held his daughter 
Christina, then four years old, in his arms; and, 
having presented her to the assembly as their future 
sovereign, he bade them farewell in the following 
touching address ; which affected alike the monarch 
who delivered, and the people who heard it. 

" It is not with undue levity that 1 am about to 
precipitate myself, as well as you all, in a new war, 
and one of so perilous a nature. The Almighty 
God is my witness that I do not fight for my own 
pleasure. The emperor has offended me in the most 
cruel manner in the person of my ambassadors, he 
has assisted my enemies, and he persecutes my 
friends and brothers — he tramples under foot my 
religion, and stretches out his hand to take my 
crown. The oppressed states of Germany urgently 
implore assistance, and, if it so pleases God, we 
will afford it to them. 

" I know well the perils to which my life will be 
exposed. I shall never avoid them, and 1 shall 
4* 



42 ousTAvrs adolphus, 

hardly escape them all. Thus far, it is true, the 
Almighty has preserved me in a wonderful manner, 
but I shall nevertheless end by dying in the defence 
of my country. I commend you to the protection 
of Heaven. Be just and honest — let your conduct 
be irreproachable — and we may yet meet again in 
eternity. 

"Senators, I address myself first to you. May 
God enlighten you, and fill you with his wisdom, in 
order that by your counsels you may always diffuse 
happiness over my kingdom. You, brave nobility, 
1 recommend to the Divine protection. May every 
one recognize in you the descendants of those valiant 
Goths who destroyed ancient Rome. You, minis- 
ters of the Gospel, I exhort to gentleness and con- 
cord; may you be yourselves the models and exam- 
ples of the virtues you preach, and may you never 
abuse the power you have over the hearts of my 
people. For you, deputies of the burghers, and of 
the inhabitants of the country, I implore the bene- 
dictions of Heaven ; may a rich harvest recompense 
your labours ! may your granaries be filled ! may you 
enjoy abundance in all the gifts of life ! For you all, 
whether present or absent, I address to Heaven my 
sincerest prayers. I hereby offer you an affectionate 
adieu — an adieu perhaps for ever." 

On the 24th of June, 1630, Gustavus arrived at 
the island of Rugen, on the coast of Pomerania. He 
leaped first on the German shore, and, falling on his 



KING OP SWEDEN. 43 

knees, offered thanks to the Almighty for the preserva- 
tion of his fleet. His troops he disembarked on the 
neighbouring islands of VVollin and Usedom : then, 
without allowing the imperialists to recover from 
their surprise, he marched forward through the 
country ; the garrisons of the different towns and 
strong places flying at his approach. His first halt 
was before Stettin, where the duke of Pomerania, 
Bogislas the Fourteenth, a weak and feeble prince, 
endeavoured from fear of the emperor to prevent his 
entrance. But, as a present force has always more 
influence over a timid mind than an absent one, 
Gustavus soon overcame his scruples, placed a gar- 
rison in Stettin, and made an alliance with its sove- 
reign. From this moment his course was a series 
-of triumphs — the fortresses and towns of Pomerania 
submitted to him as soon as he approached them. 
From this duchy he proceeded with a like success 
through that of Mecklenburg ; and while the courtiers 
■of Ferdinand, at Vienna, were calling him in contempt 
"The king of snow," who would melt away as he 
•approached the south, Gustavus was already in pos- 
session of two important provinces of Germany. 
Meanwhile, his army was soon doubled by the re- 
inforcements of men and officers which daily crowded 
to his standards. Wherever he turned his steps he 
was received with joy and gratitude as a deliverer.* 
What added to the joy of the Germans at the arrival 
* To the Swedish monarch, coming to deliver Germany from 



44 GUSTAVTS ADOLPHtfS, 

of the king of Sweden was, the difference of the con- 
duct of his troops, from those of the imperial armies 
by whom they had previously been afflicted. In the 
latter, every lawless excess was tolerated, every un- 
just exaction encouraged — and their march was 
marked, in the territories of allies as well as of ene- 
mies, by burning villages, ravaged country, and 
slaughtered peasants. The licentiousness and cruelty 
of the soldiers knew no bounds. In the army of 
Gustavus, on the other hand, every fault was punished 
with severity; but more particularly blasphemy, 
stealing, gambling, and fighting duels. Simplicity 
also of manners and habits was commanded by the 
military laws of Sweden ; and in the whole camp, 
and even in the king's tent, there was neither silver 
nor gold plate. The eye of the sovereign observed 
as carefully the morals of his troops as their bravery. 
Every regiment was obliged to form itself in a circle 
round its chaplain for morning and evening prayers \ 
and this pious act was then performed in the 
open air* 

oppression, may indeed be applied, with peculiar fitness, the 
noble lines of Dryden : — 

" The people's prayer, the glad diviner's theme, 
The young men's vision, and the old men's dream ! 
Thee. Saviour, thee the nation's vows confess, 
And, never satisfied with seeing, bless : 
Swift unspoken pomps thy steps proclaim. 
And stammering babes are taught to lisp thy name/* 
* Schiller's History of the Thirty Years' War. 



KING OF SWEDEN. 45 

Upon the advance of Gustavus, Torquato Conti, 
the emperor's general, wns obliged to retreat. The 
Swedish monarch, having obtained possession of all 
the strong places in Pomerania, entered the electorate 
of Brandenburg ; which Tilly, who had arrived there 
with an army of fresh troops, after a short time 
evacuated, and retired upon the Elbe, for the purpose 
of besieging Magdeburg. His retreat was followed 
by the capture of Francfort on the Oder, which was 
taken by assault by the Swedes, after a siege of three 
days, although defended by a garrison of eight 
thousand men. These successes excited great alarm 
In the court of Vienna ; which was increased by the 
refusal of Gustavus to admit of a suspension of arms 
for the purpose of allowing the soldiers of Conti and 
Tilly to go into winter quarters. Gustavus replied 
to the request by saying, that w The Swedes were 
equally soldiers in winter as in summer ; and had 
the intention of being a burthen upon the unhappy 
cultivator no longer than was necessary. The im- 
perial troops might therefore do what they liked, 
but the Swedes were decided not to remain in in- 
action." Nor was this a vain boast, for to men 
born almost under the frozen zone, the winters of 
Germany were no disadvantage. 

The career of Gustavus in Germany had been 
commenced without allies : the Protestant princes of 
the empire, doubtful of the issue of the contest, and 
afraid of the fierce resentment of the emperor, held 



46 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 



back from joining him. But as his successes became 
more numerous and considerable, and as the in- 
solence and harshness of Ferdinand towards them 
rather increased than diminished, they began to look 
with a more favourable eye upon their deliverer. 
Early in the year 1631, Gustavus concluded an alli- 
ance with France, by which this power engaged itself 
to afford an annual subsidy to the Swedish king of 
four hundred thousand crowns, provided he on his 
part kept an army on foot in the empire of thirty 
thousand men. The news of this treaty induced 
some of the German princes to join him openly, 
while the others favoured him in secret. It had also 
the effect of rendering the remonstrances of the con- 
vention of Protestant princes, which was now hold- 
ing at Leipsic, to the emperor more bold and ener- 
getic than they would otherwise have been. 

Meanwhile, the siege of the rich city of Magde- 
burg proceeded. Jt was attacked at the same time by 
the troops under the command of Count Pappenheim, 
and those which followed the orders of Tilly. On 
the other hand the citizens, under the command of 
their magistrates, and assisted by the councils and 
exertions of Christian William, administrator of the 
archbishopric of Magdeburg, and of Dietrich de 
Falkenberg, an officer of merit and experience, sent 
to them by Gustavus Adolphus, made a vigorous re- 
sistance. For some time they defended themselves 
with considerable advantage, and were successful in 



KING OF SWEDEN. 4? 

several vigorous sorties they made against their as- 
sailants ; but, by degrees, famine, and their labours, 
cruelly diminished their numbers ; and at length their 
powder was expended. Nothing now remained for 
them, but the hope of being relieved by Gustavus ; 
when, one night, a general assault was made upon 
them, at the moment when they least expected it ; 
and the imperial troops were in the middle of the 
town, before the inhabitants were aware of their ap- 
proach. Magdeburg was now lost ; and here com- 
menced a scene of horror and cruelty, which has 
for ever disgraced the name of the general who per- 
mitted, and even encouraged it. History offers, 
happily, but few instances of such butchery. Infancy, 
decrepitude, youth, station, beauty, were not able to 
disarm the fury of the victors. The Croatians took 
pleasure in throwing children into the flames of the 
burning houses ; while the Walloons of Pappenheim 
preferred piercing them upon the breast of their 
mothers. Some of the officers, revolted at such 
a spectacle, represented to Tilly that he ought to put 
an end to the massacre — " Come back again in an 
hour," replied the ferocious commander, " then I 
will see what may be done. The town must bleed, 
it has not yet made sufficient expiation. The soldier 
also must have something to recompense him for his 
labours and dangers." Nothing arrested the crimes 
and brutality of the imperial troops, but the fires they 
had themselves kindled — for a violent wind rising, 



48 GUSTAVUS AD0LPHUS, 

the whole town was soon in flames. In less than 
twelve hours, one of the finest cities in Germany 
was a heap of ashes, and thirty thousand of its inha- 
bitants had perished by violent deaths. Such was 
the sack of Magdeburg, which excited horror through 
the whole of the civilized world — and infused the 
deepest despair into the breasts of the Protestants of 
Germany. But the latter had, ere long, the super- 
stitious pleasure of thinking they perceived that good 
fortune had abandoned those armies whose hands 
reeked with the blood of so many thousands of their 
fellow creatures. Such, indeed, proved to be the 
fact ; the sack of Magdeburg was the last of the em- 
peror's successes. 

Meanwhile, through the whole of Germany there 
arose a cry of discontent against Gustavus Adolphus, 
in consequence of his not having rendered assistance 
to Magdeburg. The universal existence of this feel- 
ing obliged Gustavus to present to Europe the mo- 
tives of his conduct. This document contained a 
full justification of his absence on this important 
occasion. He had attacked Landsberg and made 
himself master of it on the sixteenth of April ; 
when he was informed of the dangers that menaced 
Magdeburg. He immediately determined to march 
to its relief; but his road lay through the elector of 
Brandenburg's territories, who had, thus far, refused 
to make any alliance with him. So far from it, he 
had, on a recent occasion, opened the gates of hi-^ 



KINO OF SWEDEN. 49 

fortress of Custrin to the imperial troops^ while he 
refused the same to the Swedes* In order, therefore^ 
to secure his rear, he demanded that the fortresses 
of Custrin and Spandau should be delivered into his 
hands till the siege of Magdeburg was raised. The 
elector at first refused, and much precious time was 
lost in the negotiation ; but the arrival of Gustavus 
before Berlin at length wrung from its timid sove- 
reign a tardy acquiescence. The Swedish king 
placed garrisons in these places \ but to arrive at 
Magdeburg it was still necessary to pass through a 
portion of the territories of the elector of Saxony. 
Gustavus, therefore, demanded a passage for his 
troops, as well as the necessary provisions for them$ 
of this prince, but was refused — and before permis^ 
sion could be obtained, Tilly had been successful ; 
and the ruin one of the greatest Protestant towns in 
Germany had been consummated, through the means 
of the two Protestant electors. 

After this event, George William^ the elector of 
Brandenburg, demanded the restitution of his for- 
tresses, which Gustavus unwillingly acceded to ; but 
afterwards finding that this feeble prince was only to 
be acted upon by fear^ and not by friendly proceedings, 
he appeared again before Berlin, and signified to the 
elector and his ministers^ that neutrality must now 
be at an end, and that they must either receive him 
as a friend or as an enemy. The court of Branden- 
burg were frightened, and forthwith concluded an 



50 GUSTAVUS ADOLPFTCS, 

alliance with the Swedish monarch, by which they 
bound themselves to furnish him with a subsidy of 
thirty thousand crowns a month, and delivered 
Spandau into his hands. Gustavus now received 
the agreeable news that Griefs wald, the last fortress 
in the power of the emperor, in the duchy of Pome-- 
rania, had been taken, and that consequently the 
whole of that duc.hy had returned under the domi- 
nion of its rightful sovereign ; while, at the same 
time, the czar of Muscovy sent ambassadors to him 
to assure him of his friendship, and to offer him 
auxiliary troops. 

Meanwhile Pappenheim had remained in the terri~ 
tory of Magdeburg, and Tilly made an expedition 
into the territories of the landgrave, William, of Hesse 
Cassel, who was prepared to defend himself, but was 
spared the trouble, in consequence of Tilly's being, 
called back by Pappenheim to check the progress 
of the king of Sweden. He found that sovereign in 
a fortiried camp, near Werben, on the Elbe ; from 
whence he found it impossible to drive him, or to> 
induce him to come out to battle. In various partial 
skirmishes, however, which took place, the Swedes 
had always the advantage ; while the desertions from 
the imperial army to that of Gustavus became very 
numerous. During this interval, the general Tott, 
at the head of a Swedish army, had obtained posses- 
sion of the whole of Mecklenburg, with the exception 
of a few fortresses; and Gustavus went himself to 



KING OF SWEDEN. -51 

Rostock, in order to have the pleasure of restoring 
to the sovereigns of Schwerin and Strelitz their ter- 
ritories. The two dukes made a solemn entry into 
the town, with their deliverer between them, followed 
by an applauding multitude of nobles and people. 
On his return to his camp, Gustavus found the 
landgrave of Hesse Cassel there, who was come to 
offer to enter into an alliance with him. 

Shortly 'after this, the vacillating John George, 
elector of Saxony, was also driven by the injudicious 
and ill-timed threats of Tilly from his neutrality, and 
induced to throw himself into the arms of Gustavus 
Adolphus. At first, to try his new ally, Gustavus 
talked of imposing harsh conditions upon him ; but 
no sooner were they acceded to, than he withdrew 
his pretensions, and only demanded a month's pay 
for his troops. Immediately upon the signature of 
the treaty with Saxony, Gustavus passed the Elbe, 
and joined his troops to those of the elector, com- 
manded by his favourite, the marshal Arnheim. 
Tilly, baffled in his attempt to bully the elector of 
Saxony, determined to make him suffer for his bold- 
ness. He therefore advanced against Leipsic, of 
which town he very soon obtained possession ; while 
the king of Sweden and the electors of Saxony and 
Brandenburg were holding a council of war at Tor- 
gau, to consider whether it would be better or not to 
risk a battle with the imperial forces. Gustavus, 
with the modesty of a real hero, expressed his doubts 



52 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

and fears— M If we decide upon a battle," said he, 
" it is a question of nothing less than a crown and 
two electorates. Fortune is inconstant; and Heaven, 
impenetrable in its decrees, may perhaps on account 
of our sins accord the victory to our enemies." The 
electors, on the other hand, felt the boldness of igno- 
rance — finally, however, the king coincided in their 
opinions, and a battle was resolved upon. The 
elector of Brandenburg returned into his own terri- 
tories, and the united army of the Swedes and Saxons 
passed the Mulda, and advanced towards that of 
Tilly, encamped near Leipsic, on the side of the 
great plain of Breitenfeld. 

On the 7th of September, the two armies were in 
presence. Tilly was inclined to avoid the combat, 
but was drawn into it, partly by the persuasions of 
Pappenheim, and partly by the ardour of the same 
general, who began a skirmish with the Swedish 
advanced guard. The imperialists were drawn out 
upon the heights over the plain of Breitenfeld ; the 
Swedish forces, opposite to them, were arranged ac- 
cording to the new mode of tactics invented by their 
sovereign; and the Saxons were drawn up in a 
separate body at some distance from their allies. 
General Teufel commanded the centre, Gustavus 
Horn the left wing, and the king himself the right 
Aving, which was opposed to the troops of Pappen- 
heim. The evening before the battle Gustavus told 
his troops that they were the next day to fight with 



TttNG OF SWEDEN. 53 

men of a different kind from Poles and Cossacks. 
* 4 My friends," said he, "I shall not dissemble the 
danger to you — you will have a day's work that is 
worthy of you. It is not my wish to diminish the 
merit of veteran troops like the imperialists.; but 
I know my officers thoroughly, and therefore will 
"not deceive them. I foresee too that our numbers 
will prove to be inferior to those of the enemy ; but, 
my friends, God is just — and remember Magdeburg." 
The battle commenced with a heavy cannonade of 
two hours. At length Tilly came down from the 
heights, and hazarded the first attack. He was 
received with so tremendous a fire by the Swedes, 
that he thought it better to turn short to the right 
and charge the Saxon troops. The latter gave way 
at the first shock, and fled in great disorder, with the 
exception of a few regiments who did their duty. 
The elector himself was so much frightened, that he 
never stopped till he got to Eilenburg, on the Mulda. 
This success occasioned the sending off of couriers 
to Vienna and Munich with the news of a victory. 
But in the meanwhile Gustavus, with his right wing, 

• had sustained seven different attacks from Pappen- 
heim, and had finally obliged that general to retreat 
with great loss. He then flew to the assistance of 
his left wing, attacked by Tilly, repelled the imperial- 

• ists, and, taking possession of their artillery, turned 
it against themselves. The victory was now gained, 
and the enemy fled on all sides, leaving in the hands 

5* 



54 GUSTAVUS AD0LPHUS, 

of the Swedes their camp, their artillery, above a 
hundred standards, and seven thousand killed on 
the field of battle, besides the numbers who perished 
by the swords of the pursuing cavalry, or fell a 
sacrifice to the vengeance of the peasants of the 
neighbourhood. As in these times an army was 
mainly composed of mercenaries, a defeat of this 
sort had also the effect of causing the most rapid 
desertion ; for no troops of this kind would naturally 
remain with an unsuccessful leader. Consequently 
Tilly, in his flight towards Halle and Halberstadt, 
could only succeed in reassembling six hundred men, 
and Pappenheim fourteen hundred. Thus dis- 
appeared at once the terrible army which had been 
so short a time before the scourge of Germany. 
The Swedes lost seven hundred men in the battle, 
and the Saxons two thousand. Gustavus Adolphus, 
immediately after the contest, threw himself on his 
knees on the field of battle, and offered up his 
thanksgivings to the Almighty. The first conse- 
quence of the victory of Breitenfeld was, the taking 
of Leipsic, Halle, and Mersebourg. The elector of 
Saxony rejoined the king after the battle, who re- 
ceived him kindly, and, without adverting to his 
flight, only thanked him for having advised the 
battle. The elector, in his gratitude, promised to 
make him king of the Romans. The two sove- 
reigns now agreed that the elector with his troops 
should undertake the conquest of Bohemia, while 






KING OF SWEDEN. 00 

Gustavus should direct his march through the territo- 
ries of the Catholic princes and Franconia to the Rhine. 

The rapidity of the conquests of Gustavus, in the 
triumphal progress which he now made through 
Germany, partakes almost of the nature of the fabu- 
lous ; but it must be remembered, that in addition to 
his own merits and those of his troops, his enemies 
were fear-stricken to the greatest degree ; whilst 
numerous allies, who had hitherto held back from 
joining him, were now too happy to purchase his 
favour by submission. Erfurt was the first important 
place in his march of which Gustavus obtained 
possession. He then overran the rich bishopric of 
Wurzburg. At first the approach of the Swedes 
excited great terror. As Schiller observes, when 
speaking of the bishops of Bamberg and Wurzburg, 
— "They dreaded the being compelled to endure 
from another, those cruelties, which, if they had had 
the opportunity, they felt capable of inflicting them- 
selves."* But the moderation of Gustavus, and the 
good discipline of his soldiers, soon put an end to 
these fears. 

Tilly, reinforced by the imperial garrisons of 
Lower Saxony, had collected another army, at the 
head of which he was very anxious once more to 
measure himself with the Swedish monarch, and to 
try to recover his lost glory. But the elector of 
Bavaria, who felt that, if this army was destroyed, 
no other hope of safety remained to the Catholics, 
* Histoire de la Guerre de Trente An?. , 



56 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

forbade him to hazard a battle. Tilly was therefore 
obliged to confine himself to watching the progress 
of Gustavus, and endeavouring, wherever he could, 
to foil his enterprises. He could not however pre- 
vent one of the Swedish generals from taking pos- 
session of Hanau ; and another from laying waste the 
territories of the bishop of Bamberg, who had shown 
much bad faith towards his master. During his 
stay in these parts of the country, Gustavus put to 
flight an army of seventeen thousand men, com- 
manded by the restless Charles, duke of Lorraine, 
who, instead of defending his own territories against 
the French, had entered upon this Quixotic expedi- 
tion against the Swedes. At the first approach of 
the cavalry of the latter the Lorrainers fled beyond the 
Rhine, followed by their duke, who endeavoured by 
the most humble excuses to Gustavus to palliate his 
behaviour. Wherever he passed, he was met with 
the ridicule due to his inglorious expedition ; and it 
is said that a peasant, in a village near the Rhine, even 
ventured to give a blow to his horse, saying at the 
same time, u You must go quicker, sir, when you 
are running away from the great king of Sweden !" 

Gustavus had not occupied more time in the con- 
quest of the circle of Franconia than was necessary 
to march through it.* He left Gustavus Horn to 
secure his conquests, while he advanced to fresh 

* It was said of him "that he had conquered the first circle 
of the empire before the expresses which were sent to give 
notice of his irruption into it had had time to reach Vienna." 



KING OF SWEDEN. 57 

ones on the Rhine. During this period the allies of 
the Swedes had not been inactive. Lower Saxony 
had risen against the emperor, whose troops also 
abandoned the fortresses of Mecklenburg, which still 
remained in their hands. In Westphalia and the 
Lower Rhine, the landgrave William of Hesse; in 
Thuringia, the duke Bernard of Weimar ; and in the 
electorate of Treves, the French generals obtained 
considerable successes. In the east, the kingdom of 
Bohemia had fallen into the hands of the Saxons, the 
Turks were preparing an attack upon Hungary, and 
internal discontent was busy in the very heart of 
the Austrian dominions. 

Gustavus marched forward to Frankfort, which 
important town, after some demur, submitted to re- 
ceive him and his troops. The same day his troops 
took the town of Hcecst, in the electorate of May- 
ence. At Frankfort several princes and ambassadors 
met Gustavus, with propositions for entering into 
treaties of alliance with him ; among others, the un- 
happy elector palatine Frederic, who was received 
kindly by the Swedish monarch ; and the landgrave 
George of Hesse Darmstadt, who had hitherto been 
an unworthy spy and pensioner of the emperor, but 
who was now terrified into the course he ought ori- 
ginally to have adopted, Even this personage was 
received with civility by Gustavus ; but Avhen he won 
the money of this prince at play, Gustavus could not 
help saying, " That it gave him double pleasure to 



OO GUSTAVUS AD0LPHUS, 

win ©f him, because he was paid in the emperor's 
money." Gustavus was soon master of the course 
of the Main, and was preparing to pass the Rhine for 
the purpose of attacking Mayence, when he was 
called away by the approach of Tilly to Nuremberg, 
which city he threatened, in case of resistance, with 
the fate of Magdeburg. The Swedish monarch ad- 
vanced by forced marches to succour this important 
place, but he had hardly arrived at Frankfort when 
he heard of the successful defence of the inhabitants, 
and the retreat of Tilly. Upon this he turned back 
to pursue his projects against Mayence ; and having 
taken his road through the Bergstrasse, he passed the 
Rhine near Stockstadt, in spite of all the endeavours 
of a Spanish body of troops on the western bank of 
the river to prevent him. The Spaniards lost six 
hundred men in the combat, and then fled to May- 
ence and Oppenheim. A marble lion upou the top 
of a high column, with a sword in its right paw, and 
a hemlet on its head, marked, till the beginning of 
the eighteenth oentury, the spot where the great Gus- 
tavus passed the river. 

On the 8th of December, Gustavus obtained pos- 
session of Oppenheim, after a vigorous resistance on 
the part of the besieged, and then marched against 
Mayence, which was simultaneously attacked from 
the other side of the river by the landgrave William 
of Hesse. The Spanish garrison defended themselves 
with bravery, but the inhabitants were so afraid of 



KING OF SWEDEN, 59 

harsh treatment if the town was taken by assault, that 
they obliged them to capitulate on the fourth day of 
the siege. Gustavus made his public entry into May- 
ence on the 13th of December, Before the conclu- 
sion of the year, the country on both sides of the 
Rhine, nearly as far as Coblentz, had submitted to 
him. After this glorious campaign, Gustavus put his 
troops for a short time into winter quarters, and es- 
tablished himself at Mayence, which became, in con- 
sequence, the centre of all diplomatic negotiations. 
The successes of the king of Sweden upon the Rhine 
had indisposed against him the French court ; and 
Richelieu, though always intent upon his favourite 
object, the abasement of Austria, could not view with- 
out uneasiness so powerful a conqueror approaching 
the limits of France. His negotiation therefore tended 
to draw Gustavus Adolphus back from the Rhine into 
the interior of Germany ; and circumstances, over 
which he had no control, obliged the Swedish 
monarch to take this line. The cardinal also wished 
to obtain a neutrality for his ally, the elector of Ba- 
varia, from the hands of Gustavus Adolphus ; and 
the king was near being persuaded into this measure ; 
but an intercepted letter from the elector to the count 
de Pappenheim, discovering the perfidy of this prince, 
who only wished to gain time, occasioned the king 
of Sweden to break off the negotiation. 

Meanwhile the emperor was in the lowest state of 
despondency ; without an army, without a general, 



60 GtJSTAVL'S ADOLPHUSj 

without pecuniary resources ; deserted by his allies, 
and invaded even in his hereditary states. Jn this 
emergency he turned his eyes to Wallenstein, duke 
of Friedland, the extraordinary man who had formerly 
commanded his annies with so much success, but 
whose great power and arrogance had given umbrage 
to the court of Vienna, and had occasioned his dis- 
missal from his command of generalissimo of the 
imperial forces. Wallenstein had remained ever since 
that moment brooding over his wrongs in his palace 
at Prague, and waiting for the hour of the emperor's 
distress to exercise his vengeance. In his opinion, 
all the ties of gratitude to his master were at an end, 
in consequence of the usage he had received. To 
him, at length, Ferdinand was obliged to apply ; and 
to abase the imperial dignity so far as to become a 
suppliant to his haughty subject. Wallenstein, though 
burning with impatience to take the command offered 
to him, allowed himself to be implored for nearly 
two months before he consented in any degree to the 
wishes of his sovereign. After all, he only agreed 
to take the command offered to him for three months, 
till he had created an army ; which he alone, of all 
men, from his vast riches, the magic of his name, and 
the numbers of officers and soldiers already attached 
to him, could accomplish. Within the time prescribed, 
he had collected together forty thousand men, and 
then resigned his command ; being well aware, at the 
same time, that no man could lead or govern this 



KING OF SWEDEN. 61 

army, so assembled, but himself. He refused to re- 
assume the command of the troops, till he had still 
farther humbled the emperor, and till he had obtained 
for himself as generalissimo the most extensive and 
exorbitant powers that ever had been vested in a sub- 
ject. This last scene took place in the spring of 
1632. 

The year 1632 began prosperously for the Swedes, 
for on the first of January, duke Bernard of Weimar 
obtained possession of Manheim ; whilst other gene- 
rals of Gustavus had cleared the whole of the electo- 
rate of Mayence of enemies. The king of Sweden 
had intended to carry the war into the electorate of 
Treves, but the advance of Tilly, in Franconia, obliged 
him to retrace his steps. Tilly and the Swedish 
general, Gustavus Horn, whom Gustavus had left at 
the head of eighteen thousand men, to protect and 
defend his newly acquired territories of Wurzburg 
and Bamberg, had had different skirmishes with 
various success, but without any important results. 
At length, however, Tilly succeeded in putting to 
flight the Swedes under the walls of Bamberg, and 
the possession of that city rewarded the good fortune 
of his arms. The approach of Gustavus put a stop 
to his conquests, and obliged him to retreat. At 
Achaffenburg, Gustavus held a review of his troops, 
which, after his junction with Gustavus Horn, Ban- 
ner, and duke William of Weimar, amounted to 
forty thousand men, At Hanau he was met by his 
6 



62 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

queen, Eleonora, who had brought him reinforcements 
from Sweden. The meeting was a touching one ; 
Eleonora threw her arms round him, crying out at 
the same time, u Now at the last the great Gustavus 
is taken prisoner." 

From hence Gustavus advanced to Nuremburg, 
where he was received with the greatest enthusiasm ; 
and then marched, having taken Donauwerth by the 
way, to the banks of the Lech, which alone now 
separated him from the territories of Bavaria. This 
river, generally an inconsiderable one, was at this 
time swollen with winter rains and snow, so as to 
render it an exceedingly dangerous passage, even if 
unopposed — but, in addition to natural obstacles, 
Gustavus, on his arrival, found the army of Tilly 
strongly entrenched on the other side ; and that gene- 
ral was assisted by the presence of the elector of 
Bavaria, and the imperial general, Altringer. In spite 
of the advice of many of his generals, Gustavus de- 
termined to attempt the passage of the river, on the 
other side of which the rich plains of Bavaria pre- 
sented, as the king himself expressed it, " the land 
of promise." "What," said he, in answer to the 
objections urged against the rashness of the attempt 
by Horn, " have we passed the Baltic, and the greatest 
rivers of Germany, and shall we now renounce our 
enterprise at the sight of this rivulet, the Lech ?" He 
also supported his boldness by the maxim he was 
often fond of quoting, that " It was possible to exe- 



KIXC OF SWEDEN. 63 

cute many achievements in war, merely because the 
generality of mankind supposed them impracticable." 
On the 5th of April, 1632, having provided all the 
materials necessary for casting a bridge over the 
stream, Gustavus commenced the attempt with a tre- 
mendous discharge from his artillery, which obliged 
the enemy to retire from the opposite bank. He then 
passed the river himself with a few followers, who 
entrenched themselves within mounds of earth at the 
spot where the bridge was to be made. His Finland 
regiments, who almost all understood the trade of 
carpenters, then fixed the bridge, protected by a con- 
tinued discharge of artillery, and concealed by its 
smoke. A portion of the Swedish infantry now 
passed rapidly over, while the Findland cavalry, who 
had found a ford rather higher up the river, proceeded 
to do the same. The loss of the enemy had already 
been considerable, and among the wounded was 
Tilly, whose thigh had been broken by a cannon 
ball, of which wound he shortly after died; and 
Altringer, who had been dangerously wounded in the 
head. Thus deprived of his generals, the elector of 
Bavaria, though naturally a brave prince, and safe in 
the very strength of his position, determined upon 
flight. He abandoned his camp during the night, and 
retired to Ingoldstadt ; to which town the wounded 
Tilly had been carried. The next morning Gustavus 
caused the rest of his army to cross the river; and 
when he visited the deserted camp of the Bavarians, 



64 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

and saw its strength, he could not help saying, " If 
I had been the Bavarian, a ball should have carried 
off both my beard and my chin, before I would have 
abandoned such a post, and delivered up my territo- 
ries to the enemy." 

After the victory of the Lech, Gustavus marched to 
Augsburg, of which city he immediately obtained 
possession. He was not so fortunate with regard to 
Ingoldstadt, which he besieged for several days with- 
out success, lost many men in the assaults, and very 
narrowly escaped death himself. For, while survey- 
ing the fortifications, a cannon ball killed his horse, 
having in its course knocked down the young Gas- 
sion, afterwards a marshal of France, who stood be- 
fore the king, but without doing him any serious 
injury; while at the same moment another, more 
surely aimed, destroyed the young margrave of Baden 
Durlach, who was at his side. The army of Gusta- 
vus now marched upon Munich, taking possession 
of all the fortresses by the way. This capital, though 
dreading the fate of Magdeburg, opened its gates to 
the conqueror. But Gustavus' humanity was above 
this sort of revenge — he thought it sufficient to bring 
in his train, and as it were in triumph, the unfortunate 
elector palatine, into the capital of his most cruel 
enemy. In Munich, Gustavus found a great quantity 
of artillery, and a considerable quantity of money. 

Meanwhile, the elector of Bavaria had shut him- 
self up in Ratisbon, which city he had taken posses- 



KING OP SWEDEN. 66 

sion of, in consequence of the dying counsels of the 
experienced Tilly. Gustavus had hoped by over- 
running Bavaria, to have drawn the elector to its de- 
fence ; but the latter had preferred awaiting within 
the walls of Ratisbon the arrival of Wallenstein, to 
reinforce him. But Wallenstein, who hated the 
elector, had no intention of saving him or his terri- 
tories from the Swedes. To excuse his refusal to 
assist him, he said, that the hereditary dominions of 
the emperor were the first to be recovered; and to 
prove his sincerity in this, he commenced, and soon 
accomplished, the driving of the Saxons out of Bo- 
hemia. At length, when no farther subterfuge re- 
mained to him, and when Bavaria had been entirely 
overrun by the Swedish troops, Wallenstein put him- 
self in motion ; and effected a junction at Egra with 
the Bavarian army, which no efforts of Gustavus 
could prevent. The united armies then marched to- 
wards Nuremburg, under the walls of which, strongly 
entrenched, Gustavus lay with his whole army, de- 
tenu ined not to give way. Wallenstein advanced 
towards him, and reviewed his troops near Neumark. 
Upon this occasion, he said, in the pride of his heart, 
to those around him — c< In four days we shall see 
whether the king of Sweden or I will be the master 
of the world." In spite of this rodomontade, upon 
his arrival in presence of the Swedes, and their offering 
him battle, he declined it, and took up his position, 
instead, in a strongly entrenched camp, within view 
6* 



66 GUSTAVUS AD0LPHUS, 

of that of the king of Sweden, and so placed as to 
intercept any convoys that might be sent to his ene- 
mies from Franconia, Swabia, or Thuringia. But 
while acting thus, he forgot to provision his own 
camp, and thus his army was reduced to great want, 
while that of Gustavus was still in the enjoyment of 
the resources which the well-stored magazines of 
the city of Nuremburg afforded. At length, how- 
ever, famine, and its constant accompaniment, con- 
tagious disorders, began to make great ravages in 
both camps. This was increased by the arrival of 
numerous reinforcements to the two armies. In vain 
did Gustavus endeavour to draw the duke of Fried- 
land out of his intrenchments : the latter, in spite of 
the partial successes of the Swedish king, could never 
be provoked into fighting. Upon one occasion, the 
Swedes intercepted a vast convoy of provisions, which 
was on its way to the camp of Wallenstein, and cut 
to pieces the escort which guarded it. They then 
dispersed, with considerable slaughter, a detachment 
which had been sent to meet it, and took general 
Spa, the commander, prisoner. 

But, as no insult, and no defeat, could drive Wal- 
lenstein from his camp, Gustavus determined, at 
length, to attack him in it ; and thus to put an end 
to the miseries which his army and the people of 
Nuremberg were alike enduring. With this view, 
on the 2lst of August, the Swedish troops were 
drawn out in order of battle, and the artillery played 



KING OF SWEDEN. 67 

upon the enemy's camp. This was repeated the 
following day, but Wallenstein remained unmoved. 
At length, on St. Bartholomew's day, August the 
24th, being the 58th day since the king had been in 
his camp, Gustavus made a fierce attack upon the 
duke's intrenchments. Six times did Gustavus lead 
fresh troops on, and six times were they repulsed 
with tremendous slaughter. At the same time the 
left wing of the Swedes was engaged with the im- 
perial cavalry, posted in a wood; numbers fell on 
both sides, and the success remained uncertain. 
Wallenstein had a horse killed under him ; as had 
also the duke Bernard of Weimar; and the sole of 
Gustavus' boot was carried away by a cannon-ball. 
At length the approach of night put an end alike to 
the attack and the defence, and the Swedes were 
obliged to retreat During that night, and the next 
morning, the king brought off all his men without 
loss, though the danger, had the enemy chosen to 
attack them, was undoubtedly considerable. For a 
fortnight after this attack, the two armies remained 
in their intrenchments, exposed to all the horrors of 
famine, each expecting the other to give way first ; 
but at length, Gustavus, touched by the universal 
desolation, and the unmerited sufferings of the inha- 
bitants of Nuremberg, determined to put an end to 
them. On the 8th of September, the king broke up 
his camp ; and four days later Wallenstein did the 
same, and marched into the bishopric of Bamberg. 



68 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

The king divided his army ; one part he destined for 
the defence of Franconia, while the other, commanded 
by himself, was to be employed in the continuance 
of his conquests in Bavaria. 

Subsequently, Walienstein separated himself from 
the elector of Bavaria, and turned his steps towards 
Saxony, which country he intended to ravage with- 
out pity, in order to frighten its sovereign into an 
alliance with himself. His first exploit was the 
taking of Leipsic, from whence he was preparing to 
march upon Dresden, when the arrival of Gustavus 
at Erfurt, who had been drawn, by his enemy's pro- 
ceedings, from Bavaria, obliged him to retire towards 
Merseburg, for the purpose of uniting his forces with 
those of Pappenheim. Gustavus had obtained dif- 
ferent advantages over detached parties in the course 
of his march. At Erfurt he reviewed his troops ; 
and took leave, for the last time, of his queen, who 
had come there to meet him. On the 1st of No- 
vember, he was at Naumburg, where the people 
showed him the greatest honours, fell on their knees, 
adoring the hero and the deliverer, and fought for 
the favour of touching the scabbard of his sword, 
his boot, or the helm of his garment. The soul 
of Gustavus was shocked at these profane marks 
of respect — " Would not one think," said he, u that 
the people take me for a god ? Our affairs are in a 
good state, but J fear lest the vengeance of Heaven 
may punish me for so revolting an homage ; and lest 



KING OF SWEDEN, 69 

it may clearly show to this senseless multitude all 
the weakness of my perishable humanity." 

Wallenstein had advanced as far as Weissenfels 
to meet the king, and also to prevent him from 
taking possession of the denies along the passage of 
the Saale. But the celerity of the movements of 
Gustavus got the better of the duke of Friedland in 
the latter point. Wallenstein now expected to be 
attacked, but Gustavus showed no inclination to take 
such a step ; on the contrary he seemed disposed to 
fortify his camp at Naumburg. Deceived by these 
appearances, Wallenstein determined to put his 
troops into winter quarters, while he sent a detach- 
ment under the command of Pappenheim to defend the 
electorate of Cologne. Hardly, however, had Gustavus 
heard of the departureof that general, when he suddenly 
broke up his camp, and marched to attack the enemy, 
who were now considerably inferior to him in num- 
bers. Wallenstein sent couriers immediately to 
recall Pappenheim, and then marched his forces to 
the plain of Lutzen on the west of Leipsic, by which 
means he cut off the communication of the Swedes 
with that town, and prevented their junction with 
the Saxon army. On the 5th of November, Gus- 
tavus had defeated the Croatian rear-guard of Wallen- 
stein ; and the same evening he appeared also on the 
plain of Lutzen, and drew up his army in order of 
battle, and then waited for daylight to commence the 
contest. 



70 CUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

As soon as the morning dawned, Gustavus threw 
himself on his knees in front of his lines, in which 
he was followed by the whole army. After reciting 
some short prayers, they sang two hymns taken 
from the forty-sixth and sixty-seventh Psalms ; and 
then the king, mounting his horse, rode along the 
regiments. He was this day clothed in a plain cloth 
coat with a leather collar ; the pain of an old wound 
making it unpleasant to him to wear a cuirass. His 
attendants, however, urged him to put one on, but 
he only answered them by saying, " The Lord is my 
armour!" The morning was foggy; this prevented 
the troops from engaging till eleven o'clock ; when 
the mist cleared away, and discovered the duke of 
Friedland's army; and the village of Lutzen in 
flames. In front of the army of Gustavus were some 
deep ditches, which had been taken possession of 
by the infantry of Wallenstein, who had also planted 
artillery on their banks. In spite of these disposi- 
tions the attack of the Swedes proved irresistible ; 
the ditches were passed, and the imperial artillery 
turned against its original possessors. The first 
brigade of Wallenstein's infantry, and the second, 
had been already beaten, and the third was preparing 
to fly ; when that commander himself appeared, and 
in an instant rallied his troops. Now began a most 
furious combat, in which the soldiers engaged one 
another hand to hand, and the carnage was great. 
At length the Swedes, fatigued with their labours, 



KING OF SWEDEN. 71 

gave way, and retired beyond the ditches, and the 
imperialists recovered their cannon. 

Meanwhile Gustavus, at the head of his right wing, 
had beaten the enemies opposed to him ; when he 
heard of the retreat of the other part of his army. 
He then charged Horn to follow up his victory, and 
set ofT' at full gallop, followed by a few of his attend- 
ants. He passed the ditch, and directed his course 
to the part where his troops seemed the most pressed. 
As he passed rapidly along, a corporal of the impe- 
rialists, observing that every one made way for him, 
said to a musketeer near him, " Take aim at that 
man ; he must be a person of consequence," The 
man fired, and broke the king's arm. In a moment a 
cry of horror broke from the Swedes, " The king 
bleeds! the king is wounded!" "It is nothing," re- 
plied Gustavus, " follow me !" But, overcome with 
pain, he was obliged to desist, and turning to Francis 
Albert, duke of Saxe Lauenberg, he entreated him to 
lead him quietly out of the crowd. They rode 
away together, and proceeded towards the right wing, 
in order to arrive at which they were obliged to make 
a considerable circuit. By the way Gustavus received 
another ball in the back, which took away the rest 
of his strength. " I am a dead man," said he, with 
a feeble voice ; " leave me, and only try to save your 
own life," at the same time he fell from his horse, 
and, pierced with many wounds, expired in the hands 
of the Croatians, who were scouring that part of the 



72 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, 

field. While on the ground, he was asked who he 
was, and replied boldly, " I am the king of Sweden, 
and seal with my blood the Protestant religion, and 
the liberties of Germany" — a sentence of almost pro 
phetic truth. He then added, in a faltering voice, 
" Alas, my poor queen !" And as he was expiring he 
said, " My God ! my God !" In an instant his body 
was stripped : so anxious were the imperialists to 
have any trophies of so great an enemy. His leather 
collar was sent to the emperor ; a common soldier 
seized his sword. His ring and spurs were sold; 
and Schneberg, a lieutenant in the imperial army, 
seized his gold chain, which is still preserved in the 
family of that officer at Paderborn. 

But the king's horse, bathed with blood, and dash- 
ing along without his rider, soon discovered to the 
cavalry the horrible truth of their loss. They in- 
stantly rushed forward to obtain possession of his 
remains, and a bloody combat took place around his 
body. The news of his death, instead of discour- 
aging his army, only excited their fury, and urged them 
to more desperate deeds of valour. Again the ditches 
were passed and the artillery retaken — the right 
wing of the imperialists was routed — and the centre 
was beginning to give way. The victory of the 
Swedes seemed inevitable, when at this critical mo- 
ment Pappenheim appeared. The order to recall this 
general had reached him at Halle. His soldiers were 
engaged in the sack of that town, and he was not 



KING OF SWEDEN. 73 

therefore able to collect his infantry, and bring them 
with him ; but he instantly set off himself at the head 
of his cavalry. This apparition re-established the 
battle ; the Swedes were driven back, and the cannon 
again retaken. But the term of Pappenheim's career 
was arrived ; two musket balls pierced his breast, 
and he fell, contented, as he said, to die, when he 
heard that the enemy of his religion had already 
perished. At the time of his death, though only thirty- 
live years of age, Pappenheim had the scars of one 
hundred wounds on his person. After his death, 
the imperialists again gave way, and the cannon 
were again retaken by the Swedes ; but nothing 
could stop the bloody contest but the darkness of 
night. The Swedes, however, had decidedly the ad- 
vantage, as they remained possessors of the field of 
battle, (Wallenstein retiring upon Leipsic, and shortly 
afterwards to Prague,) and took possession of all the 
enemy's artillery. 

Thus perished, in the flower of his age, and the 
zenith of his glory, the great Gustavus ; deplored by 
his followers and friends, and admired even by his 
greatest enemies. But, though dead, his spirit still 
seemed to watch over the Swedish arms, and to en- 
sure their success. For sixteen long years did they 
nobly contend to support the fame they had already 
won, and to obtain an honourable peace ; nor were 
their efforts vain. Contemporaries were anxious to 
prove that the king of Sweden had perished by 
7 



74 gustavus adolphus, 

treachery ; and they designated duke Francis Albert 
of Saxe Lauenberg, a man of bad character, who had 
served all sides and all parties, and who, on the me- 
morable day of Lutzen, had followed Gustavus like 
his evil genius, and had been with him. when he was 
wounded and when he died, as the author of this 
execrable treason. But we have no evidence to sup- 
port this hypothesis ; which indeed would appear to 
have been founded chiefly upon the love of the world 
for the mysterious and the marvellous. 

" The good fortune which had never abandoned 
the king of Sweden during his career," observes 
Schiller, " accorded to him also the rare favour of 
dying in the plenitude of his glory, and in all the 
purity of his renown. By a premature death, his 
guardian angel preserved him from the inevitable lot 
of humanity — the forgetfulness of modesty in the 
extreme height of success, and that of justice in the 
height of power." 

The same author also thus sketches the salient 
points of his character : — " He was never seduced 
by the equivocal glory of a conqueror who lavishes 
the blood of his people in unjust wars ; but a war 
of justice found him ever disposed to dare greatly. 
A lively and unaffected piety exalted the courage 
which animated his great heart- Exempt from the 
gross incredulity which leaves the fierce movements 
of the barbarian without restraint ; exempt also from 
the grovelling mummery of a Ferdinand — who hum- 



KING OF SWEDEN. 



75 



bled himself like a reptile before his superstitions, 
and trod with disdain upon human nature, which he 
oppressed — in the excitement of success he was 
always a man and a Christian, but also in his reli- 
gion always a hero and a king ; supporting, like the 
least of his soldiers, all the inconveniences of war ; 
present every where; and forgetting death, which 
surrounded him, he showed himself always in the 
paths of danger. His natural bravery made him, per- 
haps, too often lose sight of what he owed to his 
situation as a general; and the death of a simple sol- 
dier ended the life of a king !"* 

" Prodotto fu dalla natura per vivamente rappre- 
sentar al mondo Punica e perfetta idea d'un gran 
principe !"| 

* Histoire de la Guerre de Trente Ans. 
t Pietro Pomo — Guerre di Germania. 





JOHN SOBIESKI, 

KING OF POLAND. 

If a sovereign, who, by his personal merits and 
conduct, arrests the ruin of his sinking country, and 
places it during his reign in an honoured and respect- 
able situation, deserves our approbation, let that praise 
be given to John Sobieski, king of Poland. 

From the time of the death of that able monarch, 
Stephen Battori, Poland had been gradually declining j 

76 



KING OF POLAND. 



77 



worn by enemies without, and still more by con- 
tending factions and her own vicious constitution 
within. Battori was succeeded, 1586, by three so- 
vereigns of the royal house of Sweden, and of the 
race of Vasa. The rule of these princes over Poland, 
which extended to a period of eighty years, was 
disastrous in the extreme. The reign of the first of 
these monarchs, Sigismond the Third, lasted forty- 
four years, the greater part of which were occupied 
in bloody civil wars, or in contests with other sove- 
reigns, which were equally unfortunate. 

Sigismond was succeeded by his eldest son, Wladis- 
laus the Seventh — a prince superior to his father in 
every respect, and whose firmness for a time restored 
peace and tranquillity to Poland. Towards the end 
of his reign, a civil war was, however, commenced 
between the Poles and the Cossacks of the Ukraine, 
who were also subjects of the Polish sceptre. The 
nobles of Poland and their satellites had barbarously 
oppressed the Cossacks^ who carried their complaints 
to the throne of Wladislaus ; but the king, worn out 
by premature infirmities, and occupied by his domestic 
grievances with his wife Louisa of Gonzaga, afforded 
them no redress. At length the Cossacks broke out 
into open rebellion ; and when, in 1648, Wladislaus 
sank into the tomb, he left his country a prey to all 
the horrors of internal anarchy. 

He was succeeded, 1648, by his younger brother, 
John Casimir, whose fate was a singular one. Bred 
7* 



78 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

to the church, he was a cardinal at the time of his 
brother's death ; and he abandoned the purple of the 
church for that of the throne. He shortly afterwards 
married his brother's widow, whose career was also 
remarkable. Daughter of the duke of Nevers, she 
was educated at the court of France, where she had 
been beloved by the favourite, Cinq Mars, of whom 
she retained so tender a recollection, that on her mar- 
riage with Wladislaus, king of Poland, she changed 
her name of Mary, by which her first lover had 
known her, into Louisa, which she ever afterwards re- 
tained. Her influence over her last husband, John 
Casimir, was unbounded. 

The reign of John Casimir was stormy and unfor- 
tunate; ruinous to Poland, and discreditable to its 
sovereign. He was once driven from his throne, but 
recovered it ; only, however, finally to abdicate it, 
when he retired to the Abbey of St. Germain des 
Pres, near Paris, which Lewis the Fourteenth had 
given him, and where it is said he married a super- 
annuated beauty of the name of Mary Mignot, who, 
born a washerwoman, had been the wife, first of a 
lawyer of Grenoble, then of the Marshal de l'Ho- 
pital, and finally of an ex-king of Poland.* Many 
of the events of the reign of this prince will neces- 
sarily be related in the account of the first part 
of the active life of John Sobieski. 

* Memoires de St. Simon. 



KIXG OP POLAND. 79 

John Casimir was succeeded, 1669, by Michael 
Koributh \Vie9nowie9ki, the most incapable of sove- 
reigns, whose short reign of four years was full of 
misery and degradation to Poland, and whose career, 
had it been prolonged, would probably have finally 
completed the ruin of the republic. His death, and 
the illustrious qualities of his successor, saved for a 
time that ill-fated land, 

John Sobieski was the second son of James So- 
bieski, palatine of Lublin, a man of high birth and 
considerable attainments ; and who, as well as his 
•ancestors, had fought and bled in the battles of his 
country. He married Theophila Zolkiewska, grand- 
daughter of the celebrated Polish general Zolkiewski, 
who had subdued Muscovy to the dominion of the 
Poles. John Sobieski was born on the 17th of 
June, 1629, at his father's castle of Olesko, in the 
palatinate of Black Russia. His mother was brought 
to bed of him during the raging of a violent storm, 
which desolated all that part of Poland. Theophila 
Sobieski considered this circumstance as an omen 
*of the brilliant fortune and extraordinary career which 
were to be the lot of the new-born babe ; and she 
was encouraged in these dreams by the astrologers, 
who, as was usual in those times, were consulted 
\ipon the nativity of the infant.* 

John Sobieski was a younger son. It appears that 

* MS. account of the family of Sobieski, by John Sobieski, 
"quoted by Salvandy. 



SO JOHN SOBIESKI, 

his elder brother, Mark Sobieski, was the favourite 
of his mother during- their early years. The mild- 
ness and docility of the latter were strongly con- 
trasted by the impetuosity of character and firmness 
of purpose which early distinguished John. 

James Sobieski, who was a man of taste and 
literature, as well as a brave warrior, devoted him- 
self to the education of his sons ; and when he 
thought them sufficiently advanced to profit by foreign 
travel, he sent them to France. When he parted 
from them, he said to them, smiling, " My sons, 
while you are in France, occupy yourselves only in 
the acquisition of useful knowledge ; as for dancing, 
you will have plenty of opportunities of learning 
that from the Tartars !" 

In 1644, the young Sobieskies arrived at Paris, and 
found that city in the midst of the disturbances of the 
fronde. Here they devoted themselves to pleasure 
and amusements of different kinds, and became so 
much attached to the place and to the society, that 
John Sobieski even solicited and obtained permission 
from his father to enter one of the regiments of life- 
guards of the infant Lewis the Fourteenth, 

He subsequently became an admirer of the beau- 
tiful duchess of Longueville, the heroine of the fronde, 
and through her means was intimate with her brother, 
the great Conde. After a prolonged residence at 
Paris, the brothers Sobieski visited England, Germany, 
and Italy; and finally, in 1648, reached Constant!- 



KING OF POLAND. 81 

nople. Here they were met with the aceount of the 
death of their father, and of the king, Wladislaus the 
Seventh, as well as of the alarming insurrection of 
the Cossacks, which has been already alluded to. 
These melancholy events determined them to return 
to their own country, instead of penetrating into Asia, 
as they had originally intended. On the arrival of 
the young Sobieskies at Warsaw, they found the new 
king, John Casimir, elected; but apparently likely 
soon to have no kingdom to govern : for the Cos- 
sacks had defeated an army of fifty thousand men, 
which the Polish nobles had raised and led against 
them, and, assisted by a body of Tartars, whom the 
khan had sent to their assistance, they were now 
rapidly advancing, and laying waste the territories of 
the republic. 

Mark Sobieski forthwith joined the army of the 
nobles in Lower Volhynia ; but John was compelled, 
however unwillingly, to remain at Warsaw, in con- 
sequence of a dangerous wound he had received in 
a duel with a Lithuanian nobleman of the name of 
Paz, with whom he had quarrelled. In the first en- 
gagement which took place between the army of 
the nobles and the united forces of the Cossacks and 
Tartars, the former were most signally defeated; 
and Mark Sobieski, as well as several other Polish 
nobles, having fallen into the hands of the Tartars, 
they were barbarously put to death. 

This melancholy event made John Sobieski the 



82 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

sole male representative of his house. As soon as he 
was recovered from the effects of his imprudent duel, 
he hastened to rally round himself a select body of 
men, with whom he joined the army of John Ca- 
simir; for that prince, having been foiled in his 
attempts to make peace with the hetman of the Cos- 
sacks, through the ungovernable conduct of his 
nobles, was at length obliged to place himself at the 
head of whatever forces he could collect. 

The Polish army came in sight of that of the 
Cossacks and Tartars at Zborrow. The aspect of 
these barbarous and almost innumerable hordes in- 
spired so much terror to the Polish soldiers, that 
they mutinied and refused peremptorily to advance 
against the enemy. In vain did the king in person, 
as well as the generals under him, strive to restore 
order. All seemed lost, when the young Sobieski, 
then only in his twenty-first year, offered and ob- 
tained permission to try his powers of persuasion 
upon the excited multitude. He rushed at once into 
the midst of the most factious among the troops, and, 
by dint of his natural eloquence, and by a judicious 
mixture of persuasion and intimidation, he succeeded 
in restoring order in the camp, and obedience in the 
soldiers. This remarkable achievement was the first 
public act of the life of John Sobieski. He was re- 
warded by his grateful sovereign for this service with 
the starosty of Jarovow and the charge of standard- 
bearer of the crown. 



HlSG Of POLAND. Od 

The next day the two armies met in battle? 
and the Poles, overwhelmed and surrounded with 
numbers? were obliged at length to ask peace of the 
rebels. Poland was saved from destruction by the 
moderation of Chmilienski? the leader of the Cos- 
sacks, who offered terms to John Casimir, which the 
latter could agree to; and by the wisdom of the 
Polish sovereign, who at once accepted them, in 
spite of the murmurs of his insolent nobility, who 
neither knew how to behave with moderation in 
prosperity, nor how to yield with judgement in 
adversity. 

The consequence of those erroneous feelings was 
the speedy infringement of the treaty, and, in 1651, 
the war recommenced again with redoubled violence. 
The contest continued for four years with various 
success. During this time, the czar of Muscovy, 
Alexis, had ranged himself among the enemies of 
Poland ; as had also Charles Gustavus? the new 
king of Sweden? who had just succeeded to the 
throne on the abdication of Christina. As the armies 
of these different enemies advanced into Poland? 
John Casimir was obliged to fly, and to seek refuge 
in the imperial territories ; while the Swedish mon- 
arch took possession of the government of the re- 
public. 

In this moment of adversity, John Sobieski, who 
had greatly distinguished himself in the defence of 
his country, was one of the few nobles who resisted 



84 JOHN SOBIESMIy 

the blandishments and offers of the conqueror, and 
remained firm in his allegiance to his rightful sove- 
reign. At length the oppressions practised by- 
Charles Gustavus upon the Poles roused them to re- 
sistance ; while the other princes, who had joined in 
ruining Poland, becoming now alarmed at the power 
of the Swedish sovereign, withdrew their forces from 
the contest. John Casimir took this opportunity, 
1656, of re-appearing in his kingdom, and the nobles, 
headed by John Sobieski, immediately rallied round 
him. 

Sobieski, who had been sent as a hostage to the 
khan of the Tartars, at the time of the peace of Zbor- 
row, availed himself of his knowledge of the court 
and character of that prince, to detach him from his 
alliance with Russia, and to persuade him to send an 
army to the assistance of Poland, which he even con- 
fided to the guidance of Sobieski himself. The first 
care of this general was to discipline his wild fol- 
lowers ; and as soon as he had effected this, he led 
them against the king of Sweden, whose progress 
he stopped, and then defeated a reinforcement of six 
thousand men which was advancing to join him. In 
order to perform this achievement he and his cavalry 
were obliged to swim the river Pilcza, then greatly 
swollen from the melting of the snows. 

Charles Gustavus, taking advantage of the occupa- 
tion of Sobieski, now advanced towards Warsaw, 
under the walls, and for the possession of which 



KING OF POLAND. 8o 

town, a battle was fought, which continued for three 
days, between the Swedish and the Polish troops. 
In this battle, Sobieski and his Tartars greatly- 
distinguished themselves ; but victory at length de- 
clared for Charles Gustavus, who in consequence 
entered Warsaw. 

His triumph was, however, but of short duration, 
for intelligence reached him, soon after this event, 
that the Danes had taken advantage of his absence 
to invade his hereditary states. This obliged him to 
withdraw his troops from Poland in 1657. 

The only active enemies that now remained to the 
republic were Ragotski, prince of Transylvania, and 
Chmilienski and his Cossacks, against whom Lubo- 
mirski, lieutenant-general of the Polish army, and 
Sobieski at the head of his Tartars, forthwith marched. 
Ragotski was soon obliged to accept of peace upon 
terms which were advantageous to Poland; and the 
death of Chmilienski, the original author of the 
troubles, who died of apoplexy, arrested for a time 
the enterprises of the Cossacks. The Polish gene- 
rals also recovered possession of the different for- 
tresses and towns which had fallen into the hands 
of the Muscovites during the war ; and for a year or 
two unhappy Poland enjoyed peace without, and 
some degree, at least, of tranquillity within. 

These blessings, however, were not destined to be 
of long duration. In 1660, the contests of the Poles 
with the Cossacks and Muscovites recommenced. 
8 



©0 JOHN SOBIESKr, 

At first the insurgents obtained advantages ; but these 
were soon overbalanced. They were beaten by 
Sapieka, at Polowka ; by Lubomirski, at Lubartow ; 
and finally, by Sobieski, at Slobodysza, where the 
Tout of the enemies of the republic was complete. 

The military talent of Sobieski was made pecu- 
liarly apparent at Slobodysza; for the Muscovites 
and Tartars, commanded by ScheremetorT, were en- 
trenched in a camp, on the top of rocky heights, and 
which was also defended by a numerous train of 
artillery. Their numbers also amounted to seventy 
thousand men. In spite of these disadvantageous 
circumstances, Sobieski disposed his troops so judr- 
ciously, and led the attack himself with such gal~ 
Ian try, that ScheremetofT, after a dreadful slaughter 
of his army, was forced to lay down his arms ; and 
the Cossacks and their chief, the younger Chmili- 
enski, made their submission to Poland. 

This victory of Sobieski ought to have been 
followed by the most important consequences ; but 
Sobieski was arrested in his glorious career, and 
compelled to place his troops in winter quarters, by 
the orders of his superior officer, Lubomirski ; who, 
it is said, being deeply engaged in the internal in- 
trigues and dissensions of Poland, was anxious to have 
an army near at hand, which might be made available 
for his views. At this time, one of the principal 
subjects of discussion was the nomination of a suc- 
cessor to the throne of Poland, in case of the death 



KING OF POLAND. 87 

of John Casimir. The king, instigated by his wife, 
wished to nominate a successor ; and the prince they 
had fixed on was Henry Julius, duke of Enghien, the 
son of the great Conde, who was, with this view, to 
marry the queen's niece, a princess of Bavaria. This 
project was warmly opposed by Lubomirski, who 
declared such a proceeding to be contrary to the fun- 
damental laws of the republic. 

On the other hand, the emperor Leopold was in- 
triguing among the nobles for the election of an 
Austrian prince. These proceedings were followed 
by disturbances in the army, and an act of confede- 
ration among the soldiers, by which they bound 
themselves to resist the election of the French prince, 
and to effect the removal of various abuses. John 
Casimir, in hopes of restoring order and discipline, 
put himself at their head, and marched against Wilna, 
which was in the possession of the Muscovites ; but 
had been for some time besieged by a detachment 
of the Polish army. The commandant was ■obliged 
to surrender in December, 1661 ; and John Casimir 
disgraced himself and his army by permitting him 
to be put to death. 

Sobieski had meanwhile exerted himself greatly to 
restore discipline to the army, and had even, with 
this view, joined with some other of the generals in 
raising on their own account a sum of money, for 
the purpose of discharging the arrears of pay which 
were due to the soldiers. But the fatal spirit of in- 



88 JOHX SOBIE3KI, 

subordination and anarchy, which was the ruin of 
Poland, had completely taken possession of the 
troops. They refused to submit to their chiefs, and 
marched upon Warsaw, where a diet was then sitting, 
whom it was their intention to intimidate. 

At length, the diet,* which had itself been stained 
with bloody combats among its members, broke up, 
and the troops leaving the neighbourhood of War- 
saw, and dispersing into different parties, scoured the 
country, laying waste the lands of the clergy, to 
whose riches they had vowed vengeance ; while at 
the same time, they persecuted and put to death the 
Socinian heretics, whenever they found them. The 
nobles, meanwhile, had raised an army to defend the 
king, but they were defeated; and anarchy and 
massacre were at their height. 

Sobieski, during these troubles, remained faithful 
to the king ; and exerted himself without ceasing to 
assuage the fury, and to prevent the violence of the 
different factions. John Casimir and his queen had 
taken refuge with him in his starosty of Javorow ; 
from whence they sent plenipotentiaries in 1663, to 
treat with the insurgents, who were secretly led and 
encouraged by the grand marshal of the crown, Lu- 
bomirski. He appears to have wished to dethrone 
John Casimir, and to place himself at the head of the 
state ; but when the moment for making the attempt 



KING OF POLAND. 



89 



came, he grew frightened, and encouraged the army 
in submitting to the terms offered to them. 

No sooner was this done, than the court pro- 
ceeded to take measures for destroying the power 
of Lubomirski ; but at this the army &gain revolted. 
In vain did the king, the queen, and the generals 
who surrounded them, endeavour to bring them to a 
sense of their duty. It v\ r as reserved for Sobieski to 
achieve this work. He had marched on with the 
advanced guard ; but upon hearing of the renewed 
tumult, returned. He rushed forward among the 
factious, waving the standard of Poland ^ and his 
personal authority, joined to his energetic eloquence, 
restored tranquillity to the army. Without allowing 
them time to reflect, he led them on against the 
Muscovites, who fled before them. The king con- 
tinued nominally to command the army, which was 
in reality led by Sobieski, 

That general* drove the enemies of the republic 
before him to the banks of the Borysthenes ; and in 
his triumphant course obtained possession of no less 
than fifty towns. No sooner, however, had the 
Polish armies retired, than the enemies reappeared ; 
and as the season was now too much advanced to 
keep the field, the Muscovites, during the winter, 
again overran the territory which the arms of So- 
bieski had wrested from them. 



90 JOHN SOBIESKl, 

During the winter of this year, Lubomirski was 
disgraced, and his office, that of grand marshal of 
the crown, the first in Poland, rewarded Sobieski 
for his services. In the following year, he suc- 
ceeded Czarenski, as lieutenant-general of Poland ; 
and he thus became at once the most considerable, 
as he had before been the most deserving, subject of 
the Polish crown. 

He quitted his army in May, 1665, and came to 
Warsaw to receive the batons of office. It was upon 
this occasion that he saw and admired Mary Casimire 
de la Grange d'Arquien, a French lady of the court, 
who. had come to Poland in the train of the queen ; 
and who was now the widow of Zamoyski, the pa- 
latine of Sandomir. She w 7 as the daughter of the 
marquis, afterwards cardinal d'Arquien, who had 
been captain of the guards of Philip, duke of Orleans, 
brother of Lewis the Fourteenth. Madame Zamoy- 
ska was now in her thirty-second year ; but she was 
still irv the bloom of her beauty. He demanded her 
in marriage, and was accepted. They were married 
on the 5th of July, 1665, by the Pope's nuncio, 
Odeschalchi, afterwards himself Pope, under the 
name of Innocent the Eleventh, in the presence of 
the king and queen. The festivities, of a somewhat 
barbaric though most magnificent character, which 
followed their union, were interrupted by the news 
of the advance of the disgraced Lubomirski, who 
had collected an army of eighteen thousand men, and 



KING OF POLAND. 91 

was employed in laying waste the estate of Zolkiew, 
belonging to Sobieski. 

John Casimir and Sobieski both hastened to their 
respective posts in the army ; but the campaign pre- 
sented no decisive results. At the end of it Lubo- 
mirski opened communications with Sobieski. A 
truce was in consequence concluded in 1666 ; by 
which it was agreed, that an extraordinary diet should 
be summoned, to decide upon the difference between 
Lubomirski and his sovereign. Jt sat for two months, 
and was then broken up without result, in conse- 
quence of one of its members, Maskowski, (who 
it is said had been bribed by the party of Lubomir- 
ski,) making use of the liberum veto for that pur- 
pose. This absurd custom, which was one of the 
principal causes of the ruin of Poland, proceeded 
upon the supposition that the acts of the diet must 
be unanimous. Any one member, therefore, dissent- 
ing from the others, or withdrawing himself from 
them, at once broke up the sittings. A more ridicu- 
lous, or more vicious regulation it is impossible to 
conceive. 

Lubomirski again flew to arms, and John Casimir 
hastened to put himself at the head of his troops. 
The two armies met at Moutoy ; and the king, con- 
trary to the advice of Sobieski, attacked his enemy, 
whose position was defended by marshes. The con- 
sequence was, that Lubomirski, though with inferior 
forces, obtained a complete victory ; and it required 



92 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

all the skill of John Sobieski to extricate the remains 
of the royal army from their dangers. He retired in 
such a manner as to cover Warsaw ; and then con- 
trived, by judicious manoeuvres, to keep Lubomirski 
in check : till, tired out with delay, he was willing 
to consent to an amicable arrangement. 

A treaty of peace was concluded between John 
Casimir and Lubomirski — and the latter consented to 
retire into exile in Silesia ; where an attack of apo- 
plexy soon put an end to his stormy career. No 
sooner were these intestine broils appeased than 
Sobieski hastened to the frontier, having united in 
one army the king's troops and those so lately con- 
federated against him. 

But the prospect of tranquillity which the death 
of Lubomirski held out was never realized. The 
palatines and other nobles of Poland were so irritated 
against the queen of Poland, for her intrigues to ob- 
tain the crown for a French prince, and also against 
her weak husband for his acquiescence in her wishes, 
that several of them took up arms to resist these wild 
schemes. 

Meanwhile fresh hordes of Tartars and Cossacks 
invaded the province of Volhynia,* and though they 
were driven back by Sobieski, they threatened fresh 
irruptions, the Turk being also prepared to join his 
forces with theirs. With the Muscovites a truce had 
been concluded ; but it was purchased by the cession 



KING OF POLAND. 93 

of the provinces of White and Red Russia, and of 
the Ukraine. 

In the midst of these calamities, the sudden death 
of the queen, who fell down in a fit while walking 
in her gardens on the banks of the Vistula, completed 
the misfortunes of John Casimir. Fortunately for 
himself and for Poland, his weakness threw itself for 
support entirely on Sobieski. To his office of great 
marshal was now added that of great hetman of the 
crown — two posts which had never before been held 
together by one individual ; for, as the one is the first 
military office of the state, the other is the first civil 
one ; and thus the possessor of both united was 
equally powerful both in the palace and in the field. 

The Tartars and Cossacks now again occupied the 
province of Volhynia, with an army of eighty thou- 
sand men, aided by three thousand Janizaries, the van- 
guard of two hundred thousand men, which the grand 
seignior and his able vizier, Achmet Coprogli, had 
destined to assist in the conquest of devoted Poland. 
To resist these gigantic armies, Poland had only twelve 
thousand men ; but then she had Sobieski. As the 
vice-chancellor of Poland, Zaluski, said, when the 
strength of the invading armies, and the weakness of 
the Polish forces were stated, M Our good fortune has 
at least given us this hero, who, with a handful of 
men, can combat a host of foes. Nothing can daunt 
his great soul. The treasury is empty ; but he sup- 
plies money from his own revenues. We have no 



94 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

troops, but he is himself an army. And he over- 
whelms with debt his own patrimony, in order to 
bring arms, establish magazines, and enrol an army." 

This unbounded confidence in the talents and re- 
sources of John Sobieski was destined not to deceive 
those who entertained it By dint of incredible ex- 
ertions, and great personal and pecuniary sacrifices, 
Sobieski contrived to collect together twenty thou- 
sand men ; and no sooner was this achieved than, 
marching towards the enemy, he took possession of 
the little town of Podhaica, to which he was obliged 
to cut his way through myriads of foes. He fortified 
himself there, and awaited the approach of the bar- 
barians. His hope was to wear them out by repeated 
attacks, and thus to suspend their march, and give 
breathing time to his country. But he did not expect 
to escape with life himself. 

At this time his wife, Mary Casimire, was in France, 
whither she had gone to visit her relations, and John 
wrote her a letter, detailing the plan of his almost 
fabulous campaign. It is recorded in Madame de 
Sevigne's Letters, that the plan was shown to the 
great Conde for his opinion, who acknowledged in it 
the noble and patriotic devotion of Sobieski, but 
thought his fate and that of his country inevitable. 
What seemed to make the destruction of Sobieski 
more certain was, that he had left to his cavalry the 
charge to occupy the hostile armies in front, while 
he himself, with his infantry, marched to their rear, 



EL\G OF POLAND. 95 

with a view of cutting his way through thein. He 
thus therefore found himself, and the devoted band 
which accompanied him, entirely separated from all 
communication with his country. But the fortifica- 
tions of Podhaica were strong, and the genius of So- 
bieski fully comprehended his own situation. 

The enemies advanced and attacked Podhaica; but 
in vain. For sixteen days was the combat continued, 
during which period multitudes of the assailants 
found a grave in the trenches of the place. The 
people of Poland remained all this time in a frightful 
state of suspense, offering up prayers in the churches 
for the apparently almost impossible success of their 
general, but not taking any effectual steps for their 
own defence. John Casimir found himself deserted 
by his nobles, and without an army. In this state of 
things the actual existence of the republic depended 
solely on the heroic Sobieski, and his handful of men. 

On the 17th day of the siege of Podhaica, John 
Sobieski determined on a sortie. His small army was 
much decreased by its combats ; but his cavalry ar- 
rived at the time agreed upon, and the neighbouring 
peasants, irritated by the devastations of the Tartars, 
and excited with enthusiasm and admiration at the 
wonderful deeds of the Polish general, joined him in 
considerable numbers. Even the servants and fol- 
lowers of the camp upon this eventful day rallied 
round Sobieski, and formed, as it were, a second 
army. Having ranged his troops before their en- 



96 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

trenchments, he offered up a prayer to God in their 
presence, and then gave the signal for attack. The 
barbarous hordes, worn out by the siege, and dispi- 
rited by their losses, soon fled, and a dreadful carnage 
ensued. Sobieski stood on the field of battle, which 
Europe had predicted would be his grave and that of 
Poland, the conqueror in one of the most complete 
and decisive victories of which history gives us any 
intelligence. The chiefs of the Tartars immediately 
demanded peace, and Sobieski granted it to them as 
well as to the Cossacks. 

At this time, Mary Casimire was brought to bed at 
Paris of her eldest son, the prince James Sobieski, to 
whom Lewis the Fourteenth, in testimony of admi- 
ration at his father's glorious achievements, insisted 
upon standing godfather. 

When Sobieski, having completed his work of pa- 
cification, returned to Warsaw,* to render, as he said, 
an account of his conduct to the nation, the whole 
diet rose up to receive him, and answered his state- 
ments by acknowledging that he, and he alone, had 
saved the republic. The discourse of Sobieski upon 
this remarkable occasion, which was distinguished 
by its modesty and simplicity, concluded with the 
following pious sentiment, which in him flowed truly 
from the heart : — " Our successes bear witness indeed 
of the power and goodness of God. How can one 
doubt of his omnipotence, who has been able, with 

* 1668. 



KING OP POLAND. 97 

such feeble means, to accomplish such prodigies! 
He has saved us ; may he now vouchsafe to grant us 
moderation, concord, and strength !" 

Shortly after these events, John Casimir, less ca- 
pable than ever, since the death of his wife, of go- 
verning or controlling his turbulent subjects, an- 
nounced his determination of abdicating his throne, 
and retiring into France. After a certain time spent 
in stormy discussions of the diet, and intrigues of the 
different factions, John Casimir was at length per- 
mitted to depart in peace. 

Several months of interregnum followed, during 
which the most disgraceful outrages were committed 
by the armed parties of the different candidates for 
the crown. Sobieski alone remained a stranger to 
these various intrigues, and strove, with all the power 
which his personal character as well as his great 
offices gave him, to re-establish order and decency 
in the diet of election. 

At length, and partly, as it would appear, by mis- 
take, a foolish valetudinary descendant of the 
ancient kings of Poland, Michael Koributh Wiecno- 
wiegki, was elected, in the midst of tumult and blood- 
shed; and Austria hastened to offer to him the 
archduchess Eleanor as a queen, who had been 
previously offered to his predecessor. This took 
place in June, 1669, and Sobieski, whose greatness 
and glory seemed to be irksome to the envious weak- 
ness of Michael, soon retired, disgusted with the 
9 



98 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

court and its intrigues, and again placed himself at 
the head of his army. 

The Cossacks, aware of the intestine divisions of 
Poland, again invaded the territories of the republic,* 
and again Sobieski, with a handful of troops, ill 
armed, ill fed, ill clothed, and still worse paid, suc- 
ceeded in repelling them with great loss, and driving 
them beyond the Dniester. They became now will- 
ing, through the negotiations of Sobieski, to make 
peace with Poland ; but the injudicious haughtiness 
of the king and his court prevented this, and drove 
them to take refuge under the protection of the grand 
seignior. The consequence of this union was the 
invasion of Poland by the Tartars, who were sent 
by the Vizier Coprogli to the assistance of the Cos- 
sacks. Again, by a series of able manoeuvres and 
daring acts of bravery, Sobieski succeeded, with vastly 
inferior forces, in delivering Volhynia from the ra- 
vages of the horde of savages. 

While he w r as thus employed in saving his country, 
his enemies at the court of Michael, and the monarch 
himself, who thought his own greatness diminished 
by the glory of Sobieski, were bent upon his ruin. 
They put some Tartar captives to the torture, hoping 
thus to compel them to confess that Sobieski had 
himself encouraged their attack upon Poland. These 
unhappy victims of tyranny could never, however, 
be brought thus falsely to calumniate their heroic 
* 1670. 



KING OF POLAND. 99 

enemy. Sobieski, when he received the account of 
this disgraceful proceeding-, had the royal decree 
burnt publicly in the midst of his army, and then 
complained, in dignified, yet contemptuous language, 
to the diet, of the conduct which had been pursued 
towards him. 

This conduct on the part of Michael was followed 
by his refusal to send reinforcements to Sobieski, or 
to afford supplies for the fortresses on the frontiers, 
which were hourly in danger of falling into the hands 
of the enemies. The noble-minded Sobieski bore all 
these outrages, supplied what was wanting out of his 
private revenues, and determined to fight to the last 
for his country. 

The year 1671 has been called by the name of 
" the miraculous campaign" of Sobieski, and well 
did it deserve that name, if we consider the magni- 
tude of his achievements, and the smallness of his 
means. Every chance seemed against him, and yet 
he came successful out of the struggle. The Turks 
had now been for some time making vast preparations 
for an attack on Poland ; and as their vanguard, they 
sent forward myriads of Tartars and Cossacks, who 
rushed like a torrent upon the Polish provinces. 

Sobieski placed himself and his small army before 
Kaminiek ; then by his rapid movements and judi- 
cious manoeuvres he overcame detached portions of 
the barbarian bands. His successes at length ter- 
rified them so much, that though they had advanced 



100 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

as far as the Vistula, and even threatened Warsaw, 
they determined on retreating. The Polish general 
pursued them, and whenever he came up with them 
beat and dispersed them. Not content with this, he 
determined to take the bold and almost rash step of 
pursuing them into the fortresses of their own coun- 
try. He traversed rapidly Podolia, and entered upon 
the territories of the Cossacks, territories which no 
Polish army had trodden for many years. His hardi- 
hood and successes had also the effect of restraining 
the population of the province of Volhynia from re- 
nouncing the sovereignty of Poland, and throwing 
themselves under the protection of the Turks. As 
he advanced, the towns opened their gates to him ; 
and in a short time he had planted the banner of the 
republic on its ancient frontiers. 

But Sobieski was anxious that his conquests should 
be still more extensive. He wished not only to 
dictate peace to the Cossacks and Tartars, but also to 
the haughty Turks. He asked for reinforcements ; but 
was told he could have none, and that he must con- 
sider the campaign as finished. Luckily, intestine 
disturbances prevented the Ottomans from continu- 
ing their designs for the moment; but disappointment 
and vexation at the way he was treated brought a 
severe illness upon Sobieski, during which his life 
was in great danger. In the meanwhile the inju- 
dicious exactions of Michael in the Ukraine again 
revolted the newly subdued provinces. 



KING OF POLAND. 10 1 

The disgust of the nobles against their weak and 
mischievous king was now at its height ; and they 
came to the determination to depose him. They even 
consulted the emperor Leopold, who consented to 
every thing, provided his sister, the wife of Michael, 
was to become the wife of the new sovereign ! What 
is still more discreditable is, that Eleanor of Austria 
was also consulted upon the subject, and consented 
upon the same condition as her brother. 

The advice of Sobieski was at length asked ; and 
his wisdom at once saw the advantage which would 
result to the republic from the deposition of its 
present sovereign, provided his successor was not 
also a tool in the hands of the crafty politicians of 
ihe house of Austria. He therefore recommended 
the young duke of Longueville, a French prince of 
much promise. The nobles agreed to the choice, 
and the whole arrangement was in such a state of 
forwardness, that it had even been made known to 
the diet,* and approved, in the very presence of the 
wretched Michael : when the whole scheme was put 
an end to by the death of the duke of Longueville, 
who was killed at the celebrated passage of the 
Rhine by the French army.| 

This event restored the hopes of Michael, who 
placed himself at the head of an army, composed of 
the lesser nobility, who had always been favourable 
to him ; and put a price upon the head of Sobieski. 

* 1672. t June 12, 1672. 



102 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

whom he accused, most unjustly, as having been the 
chief contriver, in conjunction with Prasmowski, 
archbishop of Gnesna, of the plan of his deposition. 
When this intelligence was brought to the troops 
which Sobieski commanded, their indignation was at 
its height. They immediately confederated them- 
selves together, and bound themselves by an oath to 
defend or revenge their general. u I accept your 
pledges," said Sobieski to them, u but remember, 
the first duty I require of you is, to save your 
country." 

Intelligence had arrived that the Turks had de- 
clared war against Poland, and that the grand 
seignior, Mahomet the Fourth, was leading in person 
an army of two hundred thousand men against the 
republic. The Turkish force directed itself against 
the strong and almost impregnable fortress of Kami- 
niek, before the walls of which it was met and 
joined by a vast array of Tartars. Sobieski wished 
to throw succours into the place ; but the governor, 
a partisan of Michael's, refused to admit them, for 
fear of increasing the power of Sobieski ; and the 
consequence was, that in a month this fortress, 
which was so strong by nature that it was said of it, 
" That God alone could have built it — and he alone 
could take it," was obliged to capitulate. 

The army of Michael meanwhile had fled and 
dispersed themselves upon the first appearance of 
danger. Mahomet was advanced to Lemberg, the 



KING OF POLAND. 103 

capital of the province of Black Russia, and only 
fifty leagues distant from Warsaw. The terror of 
Michael was now at its height, and he commenced 
in consequence a secret negotiation with the Turks, 
in which he showed himself willing to yield to them 
whatever they thought proper to ask. Sobieski, 
with his small army, was all this time performing 
wonders. Hearing that the Tartars were retiring 
through the Carpathian mountains with a vast booty, 
he followed them, though their forces were nearly 
thirty times as numerous as his own. He attacked 
them, when they least expected it, at Calusz, totally 
defeated them, and pursued them with such success, 
that almost the whole horde was destroyed. He had 
also the satisfaction, by this action, of restoring to 
liberty no less than thirty thousand Polish prisoners, 
who were being carried off to slavery. His next 
exploit was the attack of the vanguard of the Turkish 
army, consisting of forty thousand men, commanded 
by the grand seignior, who had encamped them- 
selves at Boudchaz on the frontiers of Lesser 
Poland and Podolia. Concealing his march, he fell 
upon rthem unawares, dispersed them, penetrated 
even to the imperial tents, and took possession of 
the seraglio. 

The successes of Sobieski were arrested by the 
painful intelligence of the disgraceful peace which 
the king had concluded with the Ottomans, without 
any authority from the national council; and by 



104 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

which he yielded to them the provinces of Podolia 
and the Ukraine, the fortress of Kaminiek, and 
agreed to pay a yearly tribute to the Porte. The 
twelve months which elapsed after this humiliating 
treaty till the death of Michael, were even more dis- 
turbed by intestine broils than the previous part of 
his reign had beem The indignation of the greater 
nobles on the one side, and the violences of the 
lesser gentry, who supported Michael, and who, now 
they were delivered from foreign foes, thought they 
might wreak vengeance on their domestic enemies, 
occasioned a state of anarchy which in any other 
country would have caused a revolution. But the 
Poles were accustomed to these scenes, and were 
therefore not liable to be excited by them to that 
point which causes the overturn of ancient insti- 
tutionsv 

Sobieski remained all this time with his army; 
from whence he retired, when he thought it safe for 
himself so to do, to his own estates. Lewis the 
Fourteenth, at this period, aware how unpleasant 
must be his situation in his own country, offered him 
a retreat in France, with the dignity of a J)uche- 
Pairie, and the baton of a marshal of France. But 
Sobieski could not bring himself to abandon his 
country. 

A convocation was summoned in the early part 
of the year 1673, of the different powers in the state, 
to endeavour to heal the wounds of the republic; 



KING OF POLAND. 105 

and Sobieski assisted, by means of the negotiations 
which his influence with all classes enabled him to 
conduct, to forward a general pacification. In the 
midst of these patriotic efforts, he heard that he was 
publicly accused by certain members of the convoca- 
tion, who were devoted to the court, of having sold 
Kaminiek to the Turks, for a bribe of twelve millions 
of livres. His army, on hearing of this calumny, 
wished to march upon Warsaw, and take summary 
vengeance upon the authors of it. Sobieski, however, 
succeeded in calming them ; and then proceeded 
himself to Warsaw, accompanied by a great train of 
nobles. 

The wretched Michael was obliged to receive the 
man whose head he had set at a price, with the 
greatest honours. The convocation sent to him the 
humblest messages, requesting him to honour them 
by taking his place among them. He went, accom- 
panied by an almost regal train, and was received 
with shouts of applause and enthusiasm. His ene- 
mies fled, and the convocation, animated by the 
patriotism of Sobieski, at once assumed a calm and 
dignified attitude, and pursued its deliberations to a 
conclusion without further disturbance. Its most 
important decisions were, the decree for the forma- 
tion of an army of sixty thousand men, and the grant 
of full powers to Sobieski with regard to peace or 
war. 

Michael had thus, in fact, ceased to reign, all 



106 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

power was divided between the queen Eleanor, and 
Sobieski. Matters continued thus during the sum- 
mer ; but in the autumn the Porte again put its armies 
in motion against Poland, in consequence of Michael's 
not having paid the promised tribute. In the 
midst of the disturbances and anarchy which still 
reigned supreme in Poland, Sobieski again undertook 
the defence of the republic. With great difficulty he 
succeeded in bringing his army into the field, in 
October, 1673. His plan of campaign was vast, yet 
simple. It was to march forward against the ene- 
mies, vanquish them, and drive them out of the terri- 
tories of the republic. 

But fresh difficulties awaited Sobieski. After he 
arrived at the river Dniester, his ill-disciplined troops 
mutinied, and refused to pass it, and to trust them- 
selves in a country swarming with enemies. The 
eloquence of Sobieski at length prevailed, and the 
army marched to Kotzim, near which fortress 
Hussein Pacha was established with his army. This 
was the spot in which, half a century before, James 
Sobieski, the father of John, had completely defeated 
the Ottomans ; but on that occasion he had possessed 
the fortress and the fortified camp, and the Turks 
had attacked them ; and now these were in the hands 
of the infidels, and his son was with his army in 
the plain. 

On the 10th of November, Sobieski attacked the 
almost impregnable position of the Turks ; and at 



KING OF POLAND. 107 

length, after the most heroic display of valour on the 
part of the Poles, a practicable breach in their in- 
trenchments was effected. Night put a stop to the 
contest ; and during it some thousands of Moldavians 
and Walachians, who had formed part of the Turk- 
ish army, joined that of the Poles. In the course of 
the night, also, a heavy snow storm came on, during 
which Sobieski was obliged to keep his troops under 
arms. In the morning, (Nov. 11,) after having de- 
voutly heard mass, he addressed his troops as fol- 
lows : "Companions, I deliver to you an enemy 
already half vanquished ; you have suffered, but the 
Turks are worn out. These men of Asia have not 
been able to support the last four and twenty hours. 
The cold has vanquished them for us. Do not you 
see them fall in troops, while we are still on our 
legs, and have still the force to attack them ? This 
is all that is wanting to save the republic from shame 
and slavery. Soldiers of Poland, consider that you 
fight for your country, and that the Saviour of the 
world fights for his followers." 

He then gave the signal for the attack ; and with 
his drawn sabre in his hand, was one of the first to 
guide his soldiers into the trenches. These were 
rapidly passed, and the cross and the eagle of Poland 
floated upon the outer ramparts of the Turkish camp. 
The Ottomans were terrified, and the more so in 
consequence of Sobieski's having directed attacks to 



108 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

be made, at one and the same time, on various parts of 
the intrenchments, with a view of distracting them. 

The contest was now in the midst of the camp ; 
but it did not last very long, though the carnage 
during its continuance was dreadful. Forty thousand 
Turks, among whom were many pachas and the 
general in chief, Hussein, are said to have perished 
in this tremendous combat ; and the prisoners were 
also exceedingly numerous. The next day was 
occupied by the Polish army in the pious duty of 
burying the dead. 

The consequence of this stupendous victory was 
the retreat of the Turkish forces and garrisons in the 
neighbourhood; while all Europe rang with the 
praises of the hero who had delivered Christendom 
from the terrors which the previous successes of the 
Turkish arms had inspired. Sobieski advanced with 
his army for the purpose of making the most of his 
advantages, by clearing the usurped provinces and the 
left bank of the Danube of the infidels. 

He was arrested in his glorious career by the news 
of the death of the wretched Michael, which took 
place on the 10th of November, the day before the 
victory of Kotzim. Sobieski would willingly have 
continued his course of triumph, but his army de- 
serted him. Each palatine and noble was anxious to 
mingle in the intrigues which always took place 
during an interregnum. The army of Lithuania gave 
the signal for a desertion, and soon Sobieski found 



KING OF POLAND. 109 

himself almost alone. The enemies of the republic 
immediately began to rally their troops ; and the vic- 
torious general could do nothing to prevent them. 
He retired, in the depth of his disappointment at the 
failure of his hopes, to his estate of Zolkiew, where 
he was detained for some time by the dangerous 
illness of his wife, who however recovered. 

He had determined* to remain in his retreat during 
all the period of the diet of election, and thus to keep 
himself entirely free from the intrigues to which that 
assembly always gave birth. Most of the smaller 
sovereigns of Europe, as well as many of the younger 
sons or branches of royal houses, were on the ranks 
as candidates for the throne of Poland. The queen 
dowager Eleanor, who had still much influence, only 
sought the election of an unmarried prince, in order 
that, by marrying him, she might still be queen of 
Poland. The real contest was, however, between 
the partisans of the emperor and of the king of France. 
The power of the former was all concentrated in 
favour of Charles, duke of Lorraine — that of the 
latter was at first devoted to the election of the duke 
of Newburgh. 

But the people and the diet could no longer endure 
the absence of their deliverer, their hero, Sobieski. 
A request from the diet, that he would honour that 
assembly with his presence, was sent to him, and at 
length, in the beginning of May, he arrived at War- 
* 1674. 

10 



110 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

saw. His progress to that capital was a triumphal 
procession. When he had taken his place in the 
diet, he addressed the assembly, described to them 
the dangers that encompassed Poland, and the neces- 
sity that there was for electing a sovereign who could 
successfully combat them. He then touched upon 
the deficiencies of the candidates already proposed, 
and concluded by advising the election of the great 
Conde. At first it seemed as if Conde would be the 
successful candidate ; but fresh intrigues recommenced 
on the part of the queen Eleanor, and of the Austrian 
party. Sobieski strove in vain to heal these divisions. 
At length Stanislaus Jablonowski, palatine of Rus- 
sia, as in an animated and eloquent harangue, proposed 
their king, the man to whom they owed their liberty 
of choice, and the very existence of their country — 
in a word, John Sobieski. In vain the hero himself 
objected ; the name was received with acclamation, 
and Sobieski would have been at once elected, had 
he not protested himself against such precipitation. 
This took place on the 19th of May, 1674 ; and that 
night most of the nobles, and the ambassador of 
France, hastened to the palace of Sobieski, to con- 
gratulate him, and to hail him with the title of ma- 
jesty. It is said that Sobieski was still in the inten- 
tion of refusing the proffered dignity ; but the per- 
suasions of his wife, the ambitious Mary de la 
Grange d'Arquien, at length vanquished his repug- 



KIXG OF POLAXD. Ill 

The night of this eventful day was passed in in- 
trigues and agitations ; for the Austrian faction, though 
worsted, was not yet subdued. The next day, Sun- 
day, May 20th, the partisans of the queen dowager 
endeavoured to arrest the election of Sobieski by a 
veto. They were, however, at length made to feel 
that the determination of a whole people is not to 
baffled by the intrigues of a faction ; and on the fol- 
lowing day, May 21st, they returned to the assembly, 
when Sobieski was unanimously elected king of Po- 
land, amidst the shouts and applause of one hundred 
thousand spectators. 

Mary de la Grange d'Arquien, whose ambitious 
intrigues, and devotion to the interest of France, were 
destined, during the course of his reign, to injure and 
annoy in so great a degree her heroic husband, was 
at the summit of her wishes ; and her pleasure was 
increased by the reflection, that she was the first 
daughter of a private French gentleman that had ever 
sat upon the throne of Poland. The queen dowager, 
whose determination to continue queen of Poland 
seems almost to have amounted to insanity, continued 
her intrigues, with a view of persuading Sobieski to 
divorce his wife, and to marry her. Such a proposi- 
tion was indeed made to the hero, but he replied, in- 
dignantly — « If your sceptre is only to be sold at 
that price, you may keep it." 

Other intrigues against Sobieski were attempted, 
but without success ; and at length the appalling 



112 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

news of the advance of the Turkish army put a stop 
to them. The friends of Sobieski wished him to re- 
main for his coronation at Cracow, without which 
his election was not considered complete, and with- 
out a participation in which ceremony his wife, had 
he died previously to its being performed, would 
have lost her royalty. But Sobieski replied — " I 
know why the nation has placed me on the throne : 
it was not to represent, but to fight. My mission is 
to wage war against the Turks — that is my watch- 
word as king. Let me first fulfil this, and the fetes 
may come afterwards." The diet, to reward his 
patriotic devotion, decreed that he should possess all 
the powers of a king, although he had not been 
crowned. 

The immediate effect of the election of John So- 
bieski was profound tranquillity in the interior of 
Poland, and joy throughout Europe, with the sole 
exception of Vienna. The internal peace of the re- 
public Sobieski confirmed and perpetuated by his 
admirable conduct ; by winning his former enemies 
with kindness ; and by striving to put an end to all 
those feuds which had so long divided the nobles 
and the inhabitants of the different provinces. His 
principal obstacle in these wise proceedings arose 
from his queen, whose intrigues, mingled with her 
womanly feelings of love and hatred, her ambition, 
her demands for her own family from the court of 
France, and her selfish views upon almost every 



KING OF POLAND. 113 

subject, early embittered the royalty of John the 
Third. 

The departure of the new sovereign for his army 
was hastened by the news that the Turks had retaken 
the fortress of Kotzim ; that the grand seignior Ma- 
homet had again assumed the command of his army ; 
and that the united forces of Turks and Tartars, 
having turned towards the Ukraine, were making 
considerable progress in that province. At length 
they reached the fortress of Human ; and instead of 
pursuing their conquests, sat down before it for a 
regular siege. As soon as John heard of their de- 
cision to waste their time and their troops in besieg- 
ing Human, he said, " Since they know no better 
than this how to conduct the war, I will engage to 
give a good account of them before the end of the 
campaign." He kept his word. Human was at 
length taken by assault, and the rest of the Ukraine, 
with the exception of one or two fortresses, submit- 
ted to the Ottomans. 

The Tartars were soon after this obliged to sepa- 
rate from the Turks in order to march against the 
Muscovites, and Sobieski took advantage of this, and 
of the commencement of cold weather, which was 
singularly hurtful to the Turkish army, composed 
mostly of soldiers from the hottest countries, to 
commence his movements. At his approach the 
Turks gave way, and fled to Silistria. His course 
was one of triumph. The fortresses situated on his 
10* 



114 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

line of march opened their gates at the terror of his 
name; and in a short time the province of the 
Ukraine again acknowledged the sovereignty of the 
republic. The Tartars had disappeared, great num- 
bers of the Turks were prisoners, and the Russians 
and Cossacks made their peace by submission. 

It was the plan of the king to keep the field during 
the winter, and to strike some decisive blow before 
the Turks had recovered their panic, which might 
free the republic for the future from their invasions. 
But this heroic determination was rendered abortive 
by the treachery of the great marshal of Lithuania, 
Michael Paz, one of the bitterest enemies of Sobieski, 
who, upon the plea of the hardships of winter, sepa- 
rated himself and his army from that of the Poles, 
and prepared to retire into Lithuania. Jn vain did 
Sobieski adjure, implore, and threaten ; nothing could 
move his malacious foe. He set out on his inglori- 
ous journey, and John was obliged to put an end to 
his campaign, and to pursue his retreating troops, 
When he came up with them, he disgraced them 
publicly, by compelling them to throw down their 
arms. 

The indignation of Poland, and even of Lithuania, 
at the conduct of Paz,* was so universal, that the 
latter became terrified, and was obliged to implore 
pardon for his crime. The clemency of Sobieski 
granted it to him, but the evil he had done was irre- 
* 1675. 



KING OF POLAND. 115 

parable. His conduct had shown to the numerous 
enemies of Poland that the intestine divisions of that 
country continued, and that even the power and 
great name of Sobieski could not control and van- 
quish them. This opinion was confirmed and also 
increased by the diligent malevolence of the intrigues 
•of the Austrian faction, headed by the dowager queen. 

The winter passed in doubtful combats along the 
line of the Borysthenes. As the king could neither 
procure supplies of money nor troops, he was obliged 
in the spring to confine himself to a more defensive 
system of warfare than he had hitherto pursued. He 
turned every town and nobleman's castle into a for- 
tress, and then placed his army between them in a 
defensive line, to cover the different provinces. He 
"was also obliged, from the weakness and insufficiency 
of his forces, to rely more than usual upon political 
combinations, upon communications with the Tartars, 
^nd negotiations with the Muscovites. 

Meanwhile the Turks advanced with a vast army, 
and took by assault the town of Zbarras, which they 
pillaged and burnt The love of plunder of the 
Ottomans became now the saving principle of Poland ; 
for the Turks, allured by the booty to be gained in 
towns, devoted themselves to sieges, instead of ad- 
vancing against the Polish army. At length they 
marched towards Lemberg, which alone defended the 
entry of the Polish provinces, with the intention of 
encamping under its walls. John, whose activity 



116 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

had been unceasing, and who, by means of that 
activity, had been enabled to carry on a very suc- 
cessful partisan warfare, intercepting convoys, routing 
detachments, and harassing the Ottomans at all points, 
hastened, when he heard of the movements of the 
Turkish army, from these lesser duties, to throw 
himself at the head of about ten thousand men, which 
was all he could collect, into Lemberg. 

The arrival of the Turks was announced by the 
burning of the neighbouring country, and they pre- 
pared to entrench themselves in face of the Polish 
lines which covered the town. But the Polish king 
did not give them time to encamp, or to recover 
themselves from the fatigues of their journey. He 
had placed his army in various little valleys near the 
town, which were unapproachable by large bodies ; 
and his troops were besides defended by redoubts, 
which connected the lines with the fortifications of 
Lemberg. As soon as, in common with his family 
and with all the people, he had performed his devo- 
tions in the church of Jesuits, he prepared to meet 
the enemy, who, in comparison with his handful of 
men, were a countless multitude. 

The Poles rushed gallantly upon their enemies, 
repeating through all their ranks the name of the 
blessed Redeemer, which John had given them as 
the watchword. Their attack was assisted by a 
violent storm of snow and hail, which blew full in 
the faces of the Ottomans. The king fought like a 



KI-VG OF POLAND. 117 

common soldier ; at first his cavalry gave way ; upon 
which he cried out to them, " Pray remember, that 1 
must either die on the spot, or we must be con- 
querors." Such heroism communicated itself to the 
breasts of all, and the Turks were vanquished with a 
vast slaughter. So great was their panic, that the 
next morning found them at eight leagues' distance 
from Lemberg. This almost miraculous victory 
astonished Europe even more than the former deeds 
of Sobieski.* 

The conclusion of the campaign was as glorious 
as its commencement ; for though the Turks obtained 
possession of Podhaica, and one or two other for- 
tresses, John obliged them to raise the siege of 
Trembowla, and then drove them beyond not only 
the Dniester, but also the Pruth and the Danube, 
cutting off many of their straggling detachments 
during their retreat The Tartars also fled at the 
name of Sobieski ; and as his lieutenants, also, during 
this campaign, seconded him with vigour and courage, 
by the end of the autumn Poland was delivered from 
her numerous foes. 

The senate and the provinces with one accord 
sent deputations to their deliverer to thank him for 

* Daley rac says that the Turkish forces amounted to three 
hundred thousand men, and those of the Poles only to five 
thousand. These numbers are evidently exaggerations both 
ways ; but the very degree of exaggeration proves how wonder- 
ful the disproportion must have been. 



118 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

his services, and to request him, now that the 
dangers of the republic were, through his means, 
averted, to come at length and receive the crown, 
which was so justly due to him. In November, 
John at length quitted the army, and retired to his 
estate at Zolkiew, where he found the ambassadors 
of the prince of Transylvania, of the emperor, of the 
kings of England, Sweden, and France, of the elector 
of Brandenburg, and even of the sophi of Persia, 
awaiting his arrival. 

In February, 1676, John and his queen were 
crowned at Cracow, with all the accustomed ceremo- 
nies. It is usual in Poland for the king, as soon as 
he is crowned, to fill the vacant offices, of which 
upon this occasion there were no less than one hun- 
dred and twenty. John disposed of them in such a 
manner as to show that he himself had no recollec- 
tion of the ancient discords of the republic, and thus, 
besides universal applause, he gained the first step 
towards causing them to be forgotten by others. 
He then turned the attention of the diet, which, con- 
trary to custom in Polish assemblies, was tranquil 
in its deliberations, to the discussion of questions of 
public interest. Several salutary alterations were made 
in the imposts, and in the constitution of the army : 
and in all the discussions which took place upon these 
and other subjects, John displayed a rare talent of con- 
ciliation, and that peculiar mode of persuading others 
which always accompanies superior abilities. 



KL\G OF POLAND. 1 19 

The grand seignior Mahomet, when he heard of 
the tranquillity of Poland, of the activity of its sove- 
reign, and of the Persian embassy to him, became 
alarmed, and offered terms of peace ; but he would 
only consent to a treaty which should be advan- 
tageous to the Porte, and Sobieski was equally de- 
determined only to accept of one that should be so 
to Poland. The negotiations therefore came to 
nothing, and the Polish sovereign prepared for 
another campaign. 

His peace of mind was at this time much disturbed 
by the differences between his queen and Lewis the 
Fourteenth. The latter could not bear to treat as an 
equal the daughter of one of his own subjects, and 
he therefore refused to give the title of majesty 
either to Mary Casimire or her husband, upon the 
plea that the sovereignty of the latter was merely an 
elective one. This contest for dignity embittered 
the life of Sobieski, and so excited the indignation 
of Mary Casimire, as for the moment to loosen the 
bands of strict alliance which usually existed be- 
tween her and her native country. 

After great difficulties in collecting troops, John 
took the field in September. His army consisted 
of about ten thousand men, while that of the Otto- 
mans and Tartars counted by hundreds of thousands. 
The enemies had planted themselves in the province 
of Galicia. The first event of the campaign Was an 
engagement between the Tartars and a detachment 



120 JOHN SOBIESKIy 

of the Polish army, in which the latter were at 
length the victors, and took prisoner the son of the 
khan of the Tartars. 

The next day, John offered battle to the Turkish 
forces ; but they declined the combat, and preferred 
besieging the king with his handful of men in his 
camp of Zuranow, which he had fortified. For 
twenty days the king remained besieged, and the 
terrors of his subjects at his precarious situation, and 
their prayers for his delivery, were unceasing. 

One day, a portion of the Polish army, in the 
ardour of pursuit of a detachment of Tartars, allowed 
themselves to be drawn onward, till they were at- 
tacked by the Turks ; the Polish generals, with fresh 
reinforcements, were obliged to fry to their aid, and 
finally the king himself advanced to disengage them. 
The sight of the hero struck a panic to the hearts of 
the Ottomans ; they fled, and were cut to pieces by 
thousands ; and Sobieski, after spiking and destroy^ 
ing much of their artillery, withdrew his victorious 
troops to the shelter of their own batteries. Upon 
this occasion, the king's Italian secretary, the Abbe 
Brunetti, was killed at his side, and he himself had 
his horse wounded. Upon another occasion, the 
Poles made a successful sortie, and destroyed the 
works which the Turks had made, with the view of 
bringing their artillery to bear against them. 

At length, the Turkish and Tartar generals de- 
termined, by one general attack, to annihilate this 



KING OF rOLAND. 121 

handful of men who dared to resist them ; but again 
the genius and valour of Sobieski triumphed over 
numbers, and over disaffection and discouragement in 
his own camp. The Turks were driven back with 
great loss. After two days' interval, another tremen- 
dous combat was commenced. Finally, on the J 4th 
of October, just as John had given orders for another 
combat, from the effects of which nothing short of a 
miracle could have saved either him or his enfeebled 
army, propositions of peace were made by the Turks ; 
and as they were honourable to Poland, they were 
almost immediately accepted. 

Various reasons have been assigned for the con-* 
duct of the Turks in thus allowing their greatest 
enemy to escape them at the moment when he seemed 
actually hi their power — such as, fear of reinforce- 
ments arriving to the Poles — bribery, disaffection and 
discord in their own camp. It is impossible at this 
distance of time to decide which were the true ones ; 
but their decision saved Poland. The difficulties 
and anxieties which Sobieski had endured during the 
last week of his captivity in the camp of Zuranow 
almost exceeded belief; and the joy, therefore, with 
which he saw at once himself, his army, and his 
country, delivered from the perils which beset them 
may the more easily be conceived. 

Of all the conquests during the war, the Porte re- 
tained nothing but a portion of the Ukraine and the 
fortress of Kaminiek ; while all the disgraceful con- 
11 



122 JOHN SORiESbLU 

ditions of the treaty of Boudchaz were annulled. The 
piety of John led him, among other stipulations, to 
require of the Porte that the cave of the sacred 
sepulchre of Jerusalem, and the birthplace of our 
Saviour at Bethlehem, should be again confided to 
the religious orders, who had been deprived of this 
office by the infidels. The other catholic princes 
of Europe had in vain endeavoured to bring the Porte 
to agree to this arrangement. It was reserved for 
Sobieski to accomplish it. The hero retired to his 
estate at Zolkiew, which became the centre of Eu- 
ropean negotiations and intrigues. 

From 1676 to 1683, Poland, under the wise and 
beneficent rule of its sovereign, enjoyed a degree of 
internal and external tranquillity with which it had 
been previously unacquainted. It is not to be supposed 
that this period was entirely free from disturbance ; 
but it was comparatively so. The diets were still 
stormy ; and occasional quarrels between the nobles 
occasioned some bloodshed. But John in all these 
cases interfered promptly, and his authority as sove- 
reign, joined with his great reputation, gave him so 
much weight, that he was generally able to appease 
differences in their commencement, which, if they 
had been allowed to continue, might have extended 
into general anarchy. 

The constant efforts of John, during these years 
of peace, were also employed in ameliorations of the 
state of the people, in the encouragement of agricul- 



KING OF POLAND. 123 

ture and manufactures, in the rebuilding of towns 
which had been destroyed during the previous wars, 
and in the improvement of others, and in the general 
benefiting of his territories by regulations and laws 
which were suited to the habits and wants of his 
subjects. His leisure hours were still devoted to 
literature, and to the patronage of the fine arts, which 
he loved. These moments of relaxation were, how- 
ever, frequently embittered by the ambitious intrigues 
and political meddling of Mary Casimire. 

During this time, a great change took place in the 
external policy of Poland. John had remained firm 
to the alliance of Lewis the Fourteenth, in spite of 
the squabbles which the miserable pride and vanity 
of that sovereign, opposed to the ambitious views of 
the queen of Poland, had occasioned. But at length, 
when Sobieski found that the French monarch, so 
far from assisting Poland against the Porte, was dis- 
posed to favour the latter power, and even to encour- 
age it in its attempts against Christendom, he was 
obliged to make common cause with the court of 
Vienna. 

He first endeavoured, in the year 1679, to form a 
union of the Christian nations of Europe against the 
infidels. But this new crusade failed, from the ti- 
midity and the discords of the different powers. As, 
however, the preparations of the court of Constanti- 
nople continued, and it was not known on whom the 
storm would burst, Sobieski, always active and al- 



124 JOHN SOB1ESKI, 

ways attentive, prepared himself for the worst, as well 
as the lukewarmness of his neighbours, and the 
difficulties he encountered in his own diets, would 
permit, 

But it was not against Poland that the Turkish 
armaments were intended. In spite of the insolence 
of the ministers of the Porte towards the Polish am- 
bassador, that power was still too much afraid of the 
name of John Sobieski to venture to measure swords 
with him. It was against the domination of Austria 
that the myriads of Turkish soldiers were now des- 
tined to act. The empire and the hereditary states 
of Austria were at present governed by Leopold the 
Second, one of the most contemptible and hateful of 
his race. Barbarously cruel and tyrannical in pros- 
perity, perfidious in negotiation, timid and pusillani- 
mous in adversity, he seemed to unite all the qualities 
that constitute a bad sovereign, 

In October, 1682, after having vainly made the 
most abject submissions to the infidels, Leopold at 
length ascertained that the Turkish forces were pre- 
paring to march towards Vienna, His first step, upon 
hearing this disastrous intelligence, was to implore 
the assistance of John Sobieski ; and that monarch, 
forgetting all the subjects of complaint he as well as 
his country had had against the emperor, detennined 
vigorously to espouse his cause in the quarrel. 

With this view, he entered, in 1683, into an alli- 
ance with the court of Vienna ; by which, on a pro- 



KING OP POLAND. 125 

mise of mutual assistance, he obtained a subsidy 01 
twelve hundred thousand florins, the abandonment 
by Austria of all claims upon the salt mines of Wie- 
lizca, and the title of majesty to the sovereign of 
Poland, Leopold also confided to his generous ally 
the task of mediating between himself and the dis- 
contented Hungarians ; and he was anxious to confer 
the same office upon him with regard to his differences 
with Lewis the Fourteenth. But here the vanity of 
the latter presented an obstacle, and prevented his 
submitting to the arbitration of the husband of Mary 
Casimire de la Grange. 

The winter of 1682 — 1683 was spent in warlike 
preparations, which were retarded and obstructed in 
Poland by the intrigues of France. A sort of plot 
had been entered into, of which the principal agent 
was Morstyn, the great treasurer of Poland, anil one 
of the principal contrivers the marquis de Vitry, the 
French ambassador. The object of this cabal was to 
put an end to the alliance between Leopold and 
Sobieski; and it is supposed that the dethronement 
of the latter formed part of the plan. Morstyn be- 
trayed all the secrets of the cabinet to the conspira- 
tors, among whom were the Sapiehas, and other 
•noblemen, who were loaded with the favours of 
their sovereign. 

It is impossible to say how far the conspirators 
might have been successful had not John intercepted 
part of the French ambassador's correspondence 
11* 



126 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

The effect of the discovery of these disgraceful ma- 
chinations was to increase the power which the con- 
spirators were so anxious to diminish. The cry of 
indignation was general ; the king wisely confined the 
punishment to the great culprit, Morstyn, who sub- 
sequently escaped to France. Vitry was insulted in 
the streets of Warsaw, aud was obliged to retire from 
that capital ; and the diet, which had previously 
shown great repugnance to engage in a Turkish war 
for the sake of the emperor, now voted every thing 
that the king wished. 

By the treaty with the emperor, which was ap- 
proved by the diet, and confirmed by the solemn oaths 
of the contracting sovereigns — an engagement which 
the religious mind of Sobieski never forgot — Austria 
engaged to keep on foot during the war sixty thou- 
sand men, and Poland forty thousand. 

This treaty was censured by many as voluntarily 
engaging the republic in a war which might have 
been avoided ; for, as Sobieski most wisely remarked, 
" All the world is not in a position to understand that 
the battering ram which batters the walls of Vienna 
will do the same by Lemberg, Cracow, and Dantzic." 
Meanwhile, the Turkish myriads were on their 
march. The sultan accompanied them to the bridge 
of Essek, on the river Drave, and then retired, leaving 
the command, together with the standard of Maho- 
met to the vizier Kara Mustapha. 

The unfortunate but valiant duke of Lorraine, 



KING OP POLAND. 127 

Charles the Fifth, commanded the imperial troops, 
and vainly endeavoured to arrest the progress of the 
Osmanlis, who were hailed as deliverers by the op- 
pressed Hungarians, whom the mingled folly and 
cruelty of Leopold had made the irreconcilable 
enemies of the Austrian name. The duke of Lor- 
raine, by a judicious and difficult retreat, saved his 
army, and retired upon Vienna, which town became 
panic-struck. The miserable Leopold and his family 
fled to Lintz, and from thence to Passau, and with 
such rapidity, and with so few comforts, that the 
empress, who was with child, was obliged upon one 
occasion to pass the night in the open air, on a bed 
of straw. 

The duke of Lorraine, in concert with Count 
Stahremberg, the governor, employed himself dili- 
gently in repairing the fortifications of Vienna, and 
on the 14th of July, Kara Mustapha appeared before 
the walls of that city. He did not allow his enemies 
breathing time, but immediately commenced his 
attacks. In a short time the suburbs were in his 
possession, and his shells and artillery had destroyed 
many of the finest buildings in the town, including 
the imperial palace. 

The accounts of the time, probably exaggerated, 
make the vizier's army amount to seven hundred 
thousand men, .twenty thousand camels, one hundred 
thousand horses, and six hundred pieces of artillery 
of different kinds ; while his camp was a city more 



128 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

extensive and more magnificent than that of Vienna. 
When the progress of this host of infidels was known 
through Christendom, the panic was universal ; but 
no one had courage enough to offer resistance to such 
n multitude, though Leopold implored assistance from 
all quarters. Upon Sobieski alone rested the hopes 
<of Europe. He was employed at this time in col- 
lecting his army, which, as was always the case in 
Poland, was a matter of great difficulty. As his 
■different detachments began their march, John only 
directed them to meet him " under the fortifications 
of Vienna." 

By the commencement of August, the Ottomans 
had made a practicable breach in the walls of Vienna, 
and no help seemed at hand. The garrison, how- 
ever, defended itself bravely, and some of the German 
princes, at the head of whom were the electors of 
Bavaria and Saxony, prepared at length to march to 
the assistance of the chief of the empire. The court 
of Rome and that of Portugal contributed sums of 
money. 

On the 15th of August, being the day of Assump- 
tion of the Virgin Mary, John commenced his march, 
to the astonishment of Europe, who had been per- 
suaded by the tales inserted by Lewis the Fourteenth 
in the French Gazettes, that the king of Poland was 
too unwieldy and too gouty to mount his horse. 
After encountering many difficulties, Sobieski effected 
his junction with the imperial troops, with the electors 



KIXG OF POLAXD. 129 

of Saxony and Bavaria, and with the army of the 
circles commanded by the prince of Waldeck. 

Meanwhile the Austrian capital was reduced to 
such extremities, that had the Turks pushed the 
siege as vigorously as they ought, nothing could have 
resisted them. But they continued always in an in- 
dolent and foolish security, disbelieving the inarch 
of Sobieski. When the king heard of their conduct, 
he said, u Vienna is saved." On the 1 lth of Sep- 
tember, Sobieski, from the heights of Calemberg, saw 
the Turkish army, and the smoking ruins of the for- 
tifications of Vienna beneath him. The infidels were 
in possession of the whole country ; and Stahrem- 
berg, whose ammunition had failed him, was pre- 
paring to surrender, The next day, 12th September, 
the whole scene was changed ; Sobieski was in pos- 
session of the Turkish camp; Christendom was 
saved ; and Vienna was delivered, after having en- 
dured a siege of sixty days. 

The sight of the army of Sobieski, and the know- 
ledge that the hero was at the head of it, struck terror 
into the Turks. After some severe fighting, during 
which the admirable dispositions of the king and the 
enthusiasm of his troops bore down every thing before 
them, the vizier and his allies, the Tartars and the 
Hospadars, fled ; and the Polish sovereign and his 
troops took possession of their gorgeous camp, and 
an almost incalculable booty. 

Sobieski thus describes — in a letter to his queen, 



130 JOHN SOB! E SKI, 

dated from die tents of the vizier, September 13th, his 
victory, and its immediate consequences. u Blessed 
be God, he has given the victory to our nation ; He 
has given us a triumph, such as past ages cannot 
parallel. All the artillery, all the camp of the Mus- 
sulmans, and vast riches, have fallen into our hands. 
The approaches to the town and the fields all round 
are covered with the dead bodies of the infidels ; and 
the rest fly in great consternation- Our people bring 
us at all moments, camels, mules, oxen, sheep, which 
the enemy had with them; besides an innumerable 
multitude of prisoners. Great numbers of deserters 
also came to us. The victory has been so sudden, 
and so extraordinary, that in the town as well as in 
our camp, there have been alarms at every moment 
lest the enemies should return. They have left be- 
hind them, in powder and ammunition, the value of 
a million of florins." He also says, jestingly, in the 
same letter, that " the vizier has constituted him his 
heir ;" and adds, in conclusion, " You cannot say 
to me, as the Tartar wives do to their husbands, 
when they return without booty — ' You are not a 
brave man, for you have brought back nothing ; it is 
only those who press forward in the contest who 
get any thing.' " 

The next day, not a Turk was to be seen ; all 
this vast army was dissipated ; but the marks of their 
passage remained in blood and flame. In retreating, 
the vizier had massacred his captives, and even the ser- 



KING OF POLAND. 131 

vants, the women, and the camels of the camp, whom 
he could not carry with him. His retreat was also 
marked by the burning of every village he passed 
through, and the total devastation of the country. 
Kara Mustapha never halted in his flight till he 
found himself at Buda. 

On the 13th, Sobieski entered Vienna, through the 
very breach which the Turks had made. The people 
clung round his knees, hailed him as their saviour, and 
cried out, " Ah, why is not he our sovereign !" It 
was with great difficulty that Sobieski could pene- 
trate through the admiring mnltitudes to the cathe- 
dral, where he went to offer up thanks to Heaven for 
his victory. Here fresh honours awaited him, for 
the ministering priest, when he saw him advance to- 
wards the altar, could not refrain from addressing 
him in the language of scripture, " Fuit homo missus 
a Deo, cui nomen erat Johannes."* 

No sooner was the victory of Vienna and the 
safety of Christendom known through Europe, than 
the praises of John were in every mouth ; were in- 
culcated from the pulpits, disserted upon in all public 
assemblies, and celebrated by fetes. The only ex- 
ceptions to the general joy were Lewis the Four- 
teenth, whose miserable and envious vanity was hurt 
at the glories of the Polish hero, and who did not 
therefore condescend to answer the letter anouncing 
his successes, and the wretched Leopold, who added 
" * " There was a man Bent from God, whose name was John." 



132 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

ingratitude to his other* faults, and seemed to think 
that the bravery of the king of Poland was a reproach 
upon his own disgraceful cowardice. For some time 
he delayed seeing his deliverer; and when he did 
see him, his manner was so cold and so repulsive, 
that John broke off the interview suddenly, saying, 
in a tone of irony, " I am happy to have rendered 
your imperial majesty this little service." 

But though thus insulted and neglected, the thought 
of abandoning the army, and leaving Leopold to con- 
tinue the campaign against the infidels as best he 
might, seems never to have crossed the mind of the 
generous king of Poland. He felt himself bound by 
his oath, and prepared, in spite of the remonstrances 
of many of his generals and officers, who wished to 
return home, and even of the desertion of some, to 
prosecute his victory, by taking the command of the 
army, and following the Turks. 

As he advanced into Hungary, his difficulties in- 
creased ; the want of provisions desertions, the in- 
trigues and tardiness of the imperialists, and the 
rigours of the season, all conspired against the Polish 
sovereign. At length he arrived at Parkan, a suburb 
of the town of Gran, from which it is separated by 
the Danube. John attacked the Turks, who held 
this post; but he did so with so much precipitation 
that his troops fell into an ambuscade, which so 
terrified them that the greater part of them took to 
flight. In vain John performed prodigies of valour, 



KING OF POLAND. 133 

and exposed his life to the greatest hazards. He 
was obliged at length to retreat, and his army would 
have suffered most severely, had not the duke of Lor- 
raine and the imperialists come to his assistance, and 
stopped the pursuit of the Turks. It was the first 
reverse to which, in thirty-five years of warfare, John 
had been subject, ; but he bore it like a hero, and 
said to the duke of Lorraine and his officers, M Gen- 
tlemen, I have been well beaten, but I will take my 
revenge with your assistance, and for your sakes." 

This disaster took place on the 7th of October, 
and on the 9th it was repaired. Upon the news of 
the repulse of the Poles, the different detachments 
of the Turkish army united themselves, and advanced 
against the allies. The centre of the latter was 
commanded by the duke of Lorraine, the right wing 
by the king of Poland, and the left by Jablonowski, 
the great hetman of the crown. After a most severe- 
ly-contested engagement, the Turks were completely 
routed, principally in consequence of the evolutions 
of the wing commanded by Sobieski. The victory 
was followed by the immediate surrender of the 
fortress of Parkan. Many pachas and officers of 
consequence in the Turkish army were killed, and the 
massacre of the common soldiers was dreadful, they 
being impeded in their flight by the river, of which 
the bridge broke down under them. After the battle, 
the allies laid siege to Gran, which had been in the 
possession of the Turks for one hundred and forty 
12 



134 JOHN SOB] E SKI. 

years, hi four days after the opening of the trenches, 
Gran capitulated. 

John was anxious to continue his conquests ; but 
the severity of winter had commenced in these moun- 
tainous districts. The imperialists determined upon 
going into winter quarters ; and the Polish troops 
clamoured loudly to be permitted to take the same 
course. They were supported by the great hetman, 
Jablonowski, who was of the French party in Po- 
land ; and secretly by the queen, who, in spite of all 
the slights put upon her by Lewis the Fourteenth, 
continued to lean to France, and was therefore anx- 
ious to put an end to the intimate union of John 
with the empire. Sobieski was obliged unwillingly 
to yield to these difficulties. In his march towards 
his winter quarters on the frontiers of Hungary and 
Poland, he took the important fortress of Schetzin 
from the Turks. On Christmas eve the hero king 
entered his ancient capital of Cracow, under arches 
of triumph, and amidst the shouts and applause of 
an admiring people. 

From these victories of John Sobieski may be 
dated the decline of the Turkish empire. Till this 
period, the Porte had been the terror of Europe ; 
but Sobieski had wrested from them, in three months, 
more than their conquests had gained in a hundred 
years, and they never recovered the blow. Poland 
also was freed from an enemy who had so long 
threatened her annihilation : while she saw return 



KING OF POLAND. 135 

under her sovereignty or her protection, those pro- 
vinces which the infidels had wrested from her. 

Poland now* became the centre of the negotiations 
of Europe ; and the alliance of Sobieski was equally- 
courted by all. He became discontented with the 
emperor in consequence of his harsh treatment of 
his Hungarian subjects, in spite of the remonstrances, 
which, as mediator between them, he had felt it his 
duty to make. In consequence he refused, during 
the campaign of 1684, to unite his army with the 
imperial forces. Pie marched along the Dniester; 
but his successes consisted in offering battle to the 
Turks, who refused it, and in retaking the fortress 
of Jaslowicz. 

The only post that now remained to the Ottomans 
in the province of Podolia was Kaminiek ; and So- 
bieski hoped to obtain possession of it in the ensuing 
campaign. But a severe illness, which afflicted So- 
bieski during the year 1685, prevented his com- 
manding his army in person; and consequently 
Kaminiek remained in hostile hands. The Turks 
now offered Kaminiek as a bribe to Sobieski, on con- 
dition of his separating himself from the emperor; 
but though the temptation was great, and the ill usage 
he had received from the court of Vienna, as well as 
the interests of his own country, would have seemed 
to justify John in acceding to such a proposition, 
he generously and resolutely refused the offer. On 



136 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

the contrary, he continued for several years* to assist 
the imperial views and interests, by keeping an array 
on foot and in the field, and thus creating diversions 
in the Turkish forces. In 1686 he penetrated through 
Moldavia and Walachia, but was at length obliged 
to return, from want of the reinforcements which 
Leopold had promised him. 

In spite of his increasing infirmities John con- 
tinued to command his troops in person, and to strike 
terror, by the knowledge of his presence, into the 
breasts of his enemies. In the intervals between his 
campaigns, and during the leisure that politics allowed 
him, he devoted himself to the study of the sciences, 
to literature, to the conversations of learned men, to 
the fine arts, to the embellishment of his different 
country houses, and to the chase. Few, however, 
were his moments of tranquillity or relaxation; the 
tyranny of his wife, her intrigues to render the crown 
of Poland hereditary in her family, the quarrels of 
his sons with one another, the jealousy of his per- 
sonal glory on the part of Lewis the Fourteenth, 
and, above all, the intrigues which were consequent 
upon these complicated interests, which at one mo- 
ment agitated the Polish diets, at another prevented 
the marriage of John's eldest son with the heiress 
of the Radzivills, all concurred to render the life of 
the hero one of perpetual disquiet and vexation. 

The diet of 1689 was, like its predecessor of 1688, 
* 1686—1689. 



KING OF POLAND. 137 

stormy and turbulent ; but the violence of the former 
one had been principally directed against the queen, 
and her supposed influence ; that of the latter even 
vented itself in an attack on the king himself. One 
of the members of the diet, Opalinski, bishop of 
Culm, said, while apostrophizing the king, " either 
be just, or cease to reign." This cruel attack so 
wounded the feelings of Sobieski, that he threatened 
to abdicate ; but was persuaded by the assembly and 
the people to forego the intention, upon the bishop's 
begging pardon for his injurious expressions. " He 
resigned himself," to use the words of Salvandy, " to 
reign to the end, as a soldier does to fight, but with- 
out illusion and without hope." 

Had the wise counsels of Sobieski to the emperor 
been followed,* namely, to allow no respite to the 
Turks, but to follow up the successes against them, 
by penetrating into the heart of their empire, and 
dictating peace under the walls of Adrianople, their 
power would probably have fallen to rise no more. 
Eut the narrow mind of Leopold was incapable of 
comprehending the extended views of the king of 
Poland ; and besides, he was jealous of his talents, 
and of his glory ; though those very qualities had 
saved his empire. He had therefore conducted the 
Turkish war with so little energy (John being also 
restrained by the intestine divisions of his subjects, 
and the want of men and money, which the succeed- 
* 1690. 
12* 



138 JOHN T SOBIESKI. 

ing diets either did not vote at all, or voted too spar- 
ingly,) that the Turks had time to repair their losses. 
Their new vizier, also, Mustapha Coprogli, brother 
of Achmet Coprogli, was, like all his family, a man 
of ability. 

Leopold now found the necessity of renewing his 
alliance with the Polish sovereign ; and as he had 
before accomplished this by promising an archduchess 
to Prince James Sobieski, the king's eldest son, he 
now again brought it about, by arranging his marriage 
with a princess of Neubourg. By his union with 
this princess,* Prince James became the brother-in- 
law of the kings of Portugal and Spain, and of the 
emperor himself. 

This marriage only, however, increased the do- 
mestic chagrins of John, as his imperious wife soon 
quarrelled with her daughter-in-law. He fled from 
these scenes to fields of battle as a relief. Though 
now infirm, and in bad health, he took the command 
of his army in July, 1691 ; and advancing to the 
assistance of the emperor, he entered Moldavia. At 
Pererita he obtained a complete victory over the 
Turks, of which the consequence was, that all Mol- 
davia submitted to him, and the different fortresses 
received Polish garrisons. 

Almost at the same time that the king of Poland 
was thus concluding the glories of his military life 
(for this was the last time he commanded an army 
* 1691. 



KING OF POLAND. 139 

in person,) the Turks received another most severe 
loss in another quarter, by the death of the vizier, 
Mustapha Coprogli, who was killed in the battle of 
Salankemen, while contending with the imperial 
troops, commanded by Prince Lewis of Baden. 

During the remaining years of the life of John, 
the Polish army was commanded by Jablonowski 
and Casimir Sapieha; they did but little, but at all 
events, they prevented the Turks from again obtain- 
ing possession of that part of Moldavia, namely, the 
district within the river Pruth, which John in his 
last campaign had acquired for the republic. 

The last years* of the life of the king of Poland 
were as full of vexations as his former ones had been. 
The ambitious projects of Mary Casimire, the quarrels 
and jealousies of the royal family, the faithless- 
ness of allies, and the turbulence and ingratitude 
of subjects, all contributed to embitter the existence 
of him who had deserved better things from his 
country, and from humanity. His increasing infirmi- 
ties also pressed upon him. Jn the beginning of 
1695, a report of his death occasioned a sudden 
irruption of the Turks into the Polish provinces; 
but as soon as they discovered that he was still 
alive, they retired. 

At this time, John had the satistaction of marrying 
his daughter Theresa to the elector of Bavaria, a 
brave prince, who had fought under the orders of 
Sobieski during the Vienna campaign. 
* 1692—1695, 



140 JOHN SOBIESKI, 

The existence of Sobieski during the last year of 
his life was one long agony ; so great were his suffer- 
ings both of body and mind. His intervals of ease 
were occupied with practices of piety, and those 
literary and scientific amusements in which he had 
always so much delighted. The 17th of June (the 
festival of the Trinity, so much honoured in catholic 
countries) was the birthday of Sobieski, and was 
also the day of his election as sovereign of Poland. 
It was also, by a singular coincidence, the day of his 
death. 

He had on that day heard mass, and had ex- 
pressed regret that he could not also communicate, 
as, in consequence of the feeble state of his health, 
he had not been able to fast. Towards the evening, 
he was struck with a violent attack of apoplexy, 
from which he recovered sufficiently to utter the 
words, " Slava Henef which have been held to 
mean, that he regretted being recalled to life. A 
second fit put an end to his sufferings. He expired 
at sunset, and his death, like his birth, was marked 
by a violent storm. 

Thus died, in the 66th year of his age, and the 
22d of his reign, a prince, of whom it may be truly 
said, that neither the world nor his own country 
were worthy of him. From the former, that is, 
from his allies, he received coldness and envy, in 
return for the most loyal attachment to treaties, and 
the most brilliant services on the field of battle ;— 



KING OF POLAND, 141 

from the latter, he met but ingratitude, though he had 
raised her from the lowest esteem among European 
powers, and made her feared and respected ; and had by 
his wisdom retarded that ruin which her own vicious 
constitution was sure eventually to entail upon her. 
He was the most devoted of husbands, and the most 
affectionate of fathers ; yet his wife and children 
were the very persons who, by their bad conduct, 
filled up the cup of his sorrows. 

The beautiful simplicity of mind of Sobieski, and 
his patriotic and affectionate feelings, are best proved, 
however, by an extract from one of his private and 
familiar letters to his wife, written during the cele- 
brated campaign of Vienna, and which apparently 
answers the arguments of those persons who ob- 
jected to that expedition. "For me," says he, "I 
have devoted my life to the glory of God, and to his 
sacred cause, and in that I will persist. At the same 
time, 1 do not expose myself to personal dangers 
more than is necessary for a king, who has the eyes 
of all Europe upon his actions. For I hold to life. 
I hold to it for the sake of Christianity, and of my 
country, for you, my love, for my children, for my 
family, and for my friends. But honour, which I 
have always had in view, and laboured for during 
the whole of my career; honour, also, ought to be 
dear to me ! To conclude, I think I can conciliate all 
these interests, and I trust to do so with the aid of 
the Almighty." 



142 JOHN SOBIESKI. 

That he had faults and blots in his character, in 
short, that he was human, is undoubted. But how 
immensely did his great and good qualities over- 
balance his less praiseworthy ones. As Charles the 
Twelfth, then a boy of only fifteen, said, when he 
heard of his decease, " Such men should never die." 

In consequence of the informalities which took 
place at the election and coronation of Augustus of 
Saxony, his successor, the funeral of Sobieski, which 
should, according to ancient custom, have accom- 
panied the latter ceremony, was deferred for thirty-six 
years, till the coronation of Augustus' successor; 
when at length the ashes of the hero reposed with 
those of the long line of his royal predecessors, in 
the cathedral of Cracow. 





PETER THE GREAT, 

EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 

The life of Peter the Great, the creator of the 
power of Russia, is full of remarkable achievements, 
which were the offspring of his eminent qualities ; 
but it is also stained with many crimes. The former 
entirely resulted from his own merits ; while for the 
latter some little palliation may be found in the 
barbarism of his education, and of the state of 
society in which he lived. 

143 



144 PETER THE GREAT, 

Peter was the only son of Alexis Michaelowitz,* 
czar of Russia, by his second wife, and was born 
June 10, 1672. Alexis was a prince of merit, and 
was the first sovereign of Russia who made any 
endeavours towards civilizing his people. He died, 
unfortunately, before his plans of amelioration had 
had any perceptible effect, in the forty-seventh year 
of his age, at the commencement of the year 1677. 
He left by his first wife, who was the daughter of a 
Russian Boyard, named Miloslauski, two sons and 
six daughters. Of the daughters, the only celebrated 
one was the princess Sophia, who was the third. 
The sons were Feodore, who succeeded him, and 
Ivan. Ivan was born, and continued during life, 
nearly blind and nearly dumb. He was also afflicted 
with wretched health, and was subject to attacks of 
convulsions. By his second wife, a daughter of the 
Russian Boyard Narishkin, Alexis became the father 
of Peter, as has been already mentioned, and of a 
daughter, named Natalia. 

Feodore inherited the good qualities of his father, 
and continued his attempts at civilization and im- 
provement as much as his feeble health permitted. 
He was twice married, and, like his father, both 
times to the daughters of subjects ; but had no off- 
spring by either wife. He died in April, 1682, and 

* Alexis was the son of Michael Romanof, who had been 
elevated to the throne of Russia, in 1613, by the common 
consent of the nobles. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 145 

on his death, named his younger brother, Peter, then 
in his tenth year, to succeed him. The exclusion 
of Ivan seemed necessary, in consequence of his 
bodily sufferings and defects. During the agony of 
Feodore, the princess Sophia, who was a woman of 
great ambition, had, however, taken measures with a 
view of ensuring to herself the real exercise of the 
royal power. This scheme was rendered the easier 
from the circumstances of the incapacity of one of 
her brothers, and the tender age of the other. 

The military guards of the czars of Muscovy were 
a powerful body, to whom were given the name of 
strelitz ; they amounted to forty thousand men, and 
their numbers and their privileges rendered them so 
formidable, that they frequently tyrannized over those 
whom they were intended to protect. Like the prae- 
torian guards of the Roman emperors, and the jani- 
zaries of the Sublime Porte, they sometimes dethroned 
monarchs, and caused revolutions. The princess 
Sophia had gained this dangerous force to her side, 
and prepared with their aid to set aside the last wishes 
of her brother, who had hardly ceased to breathe. 
The nobles of Russia had confirmed the choice of 
Feodore, and had proclaimed the child, Peter, their 
czar ; but the strelitz, incited by Sophia, who thought 
that her power would be greater, as well as more 
lasting, if the incapable Ivan was sovereign, declared 
for the latter. Sophia excited them by promises, and 
by gifts of money ; and then gave them a list of 
13 



146 PETER THE GREAT, 

above forty nobles who were the most attached to 
Peter and his mother, with orders to massacre them- 
She particularly excited their hatred against the Na- 
rishkins, the family of the czarina. 

The strelitz, mad with excitement, and inflamed 
with spirituous liquors, proceeded with fury to the 
work of vengeance. They put to death all those 
designated to them by Sophia, and added to these 
victims many whom they personally disliked. The 
czarina was forced to fly with Peter, and to carry 
him in her arms to a considerable distance from 
Moscow. Even this precaution was not sufficient. 
She was pursued, and the asylum of a convent, into 
which she had retired, was violated by the brutal 
soldiery. She rushed, in despair, into the church of 
the convent, and placed her son upon the high altar, 
and herself before him. Even this sanctuary was 
not respected. Two of the strelitz followed her, 
and seizing the child, were preparing to cut his head 
ofT. At this moment some officers arrived, by whom 
he was rescued. The issue of this bloody tumult 
was, that Ivan and Peter were declared joint sove- 
reigns, and Sophia regent ; but the real governors of 
the state were the accomplices of the latter in crime> 
the unruly strelitz. 

This state of things continued for three years ; but 
at length Sophia contrived, in some degree at least, 
to reduce the strelitz to submission, and to emanci- 
pate herself from their tyranny. This task she ac- 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 147 

complished, in part, by the assistance of the prince 
Basil Gallitzin, whom she made her prime minister 
and generalissimo, and who, from his abilities, his 
instruction, and his sound views of government, was 
worthy of the trust reposed in him. 

Meanwhile her great object was to prevent her 
brother Peter, who already showed signs of abilities, 
from ever wresting from her the sovereignty. With 
this view, she married Ivan, in 1684, to a young 
Soltikof, hoping that an heir might be born, who 
would for ever exclude Peter from the throne. But 
her more systematic, and less justifiable means of 
attaining her object, were the neglect and even per- 
version of his education. The general Menzies, a 
learned Scotchman, who had been placed about Peter 
by his father, Alexis, and who refused to concur in 
the infamous plans of Sophia, was removed. The 
young prince was then delivered to the care of some 
obscure foreigners, was encouraged in idleness and vul- 
gar amusements, and even in irregularities, by which 
his mind was corrupted, and his constitution injured. 

Fortunately among the adventurers by whom Peter 
had been surrounded was a Geneves, named Lefort, 
who had served in the armies of the French, and 
had subsequently engaged himself in the service of 
the czar Alexis. When, however, he arrived in Rus- 
sia, that prince was no more. After many sufferings, 
he succeeded in being placed about the person of the 
young czar. Lefort was a man of ability and in- 



148 PETER THE GREAT, 

struction, and he soon perceived the opening genius 
of Peter. He lost no time in instilling into him the 
rudiments of science, a knowledge of the history 
and arts of Europe, and above all, the best instruc- 
tion he was able to afford him upon military matters. 
Peter profited to the utmost by these lessons, and as 
his mind expanded, he determined to resist the un- 
principled ambition of his sister. 

When Peter arrived at the age of seventeen he 
married, and like all his predecessors, he chose his 
wife from among his subjects. She was the daugh- 
ter of Colonel Lapuchin. Almost immediately after 
this event* the princess Sophia, not content with the 
reality of power and sovereignty, determined to as- 
sume to herself the outward forms of sovereignty. 
She declared herself czarina ; Peter remonstrated at 
the usurpation ; and the ruthless princess determined 
upon his immediate assassination. 

Six hundred strelitz were despatched upon this 
bloody errand. They left Moscow by night, and 
marched in all haste towards the residence of the 
young Peter, hoping to find him unprepared and de- 
fenceless. But he had been made acquainted in 
time by secret friends of the plot against his life, and 
he fled to the convent of the Holy Trinity. There 
he called around him his friends, and the friends of 
Russia, to protect his life, and to assist him in putting 
an end to the usurpation which existed. Nor was 
* 1689. 



EMPEROR OP RUSSIA. 149 

the call in vain. The greater part of the nobles and 
of the army deserted Sophia, who was seized and 
shut up in a convent at Moscow. Her minister, 
Gallitzin, was banished ; and her followers, especially 
the strelitz, were put to death in great numbers, and 
with circumstances of cruelty which the barbarous 
state of the country and of the people rendered usual 
upon such occasions. 

Peter now assumed the reins of government, as- 
sociating nominally with himself his imbecile brother, 
Ivan, whose name is found in the acts of the Russian 
government, till his death in 1696. 

Peter no sooner saw himself in possession of the 
sovereignty, which was his due, than he commenced 
his regeneration of Russia. As a preliminary to this 
great work, he vanquished his own feelings and 
habits. Having been accustomed to idleness and 
riotous living, he became laborious and frugal ;— 
having been brought up in comparative ignorance, 
he became most diligent in acquiring knowledge. 
Nay, he even overcame his constitutional antipathies. 
He was by nature afraid of water — this feeling was 
so strong that he was accustomed to be covered by 
a cold perspiration, and even to fall into convulsions, 
in passing a rivulet — yet he ended in becoming an 
experienced mariner, and in even feeling a pleasure 
in being both in and on the water. This he accom- 
plished, by throwing himself every morning into a 
cold bath) till his horror of the element had abated. 
13* 



150 PETER THE GREAT, 

Another determination on the part of Peter, in his 
plan for the civilisation of Russia, and which proved 
of essential service to him, was that of becoming 
himself, in the first place, acquainted with all the 
arts and improvements which he designed to intro- 
duce into this country. This he felt to be necessary, 
in consequence of the universal ignorance of all his 
subjects upon these matters. It was this determina- 
tion which made him a labourer in the dockyards of 
Saardam, and led him to take lessons in different 
trades. 

For the first three years of his reign, his own 
education, the study of military tactics, and the care 
of forming an effective and disciplined army of 
twenty thousand men, sufficiently occupied the 
young czar. One day, when Peter was walking in 
the gardens of Ismaeloff, one of his country houses, 
he saw the wreck of a small English vessel, or 
sailing boat, which had been abandoned. He in- 
quired of Timmerman, his master of mathematics, 
what occasioned the difference in the shape and 
construction of this boat from those he had seen on 
the river Moskwa. Timmerman told him, that it 
Was because this one had been adapted for sails as 
well as oars. Peter became anxious immediately to 
repair and render serviceable the little vessel — the 
difficulty was to find any one within the bounds 
of his empire who was capable of the task. At 
length he discovered that a shipbuilder, named 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 151 

Brandt, whom his father had imported from Hol- 
land, was still living in obscurity at Moscow, 
Brandt restored the wreck, and Peter had it placed 
on a large lake, and navigated it himself. 

He then employed Brandt to build him two fri- 
gates and three yachts, and when they were com- 
pleted, he had them launched on the same lake, and 
was accustomed to act himself as the pilot of 
his little fleet. In 1694, he went to Archangel, 
where he made Brandt build him another frigate, 
on board of which, and accompanied by all the 
merchant vessels in that port, he set sail upon the 
White sea, with a view of perfecting himself in naval 
manoeuvres. 

These amusements were interrupted by the com- 
mencement of hostilities against the Ottoman Porte. 
In 1695, Peter declared war against that power, 
taking advantage of the moment when the Venetians 
and the emperor seemed to be successfully attacking 
the Turkish territories. His great object was to 
obtain, if possible, an extension of his frontier to- 
wards the south, so as to enable him to establish a 
maritime force in the Black sea. His army marched 
against Azoph, and commenced the siege of that 
. place. But this was the first fortified town which 
the Russians had ever regularly besieged ; and for a 
considerable time they suffered losses, without being 
able to make any impression on the place. The 
artillery of Peter was commanded by a Dantzicker, 



152 PETER THE GREAT, 

named Jacob. This man was punished for some 
fault, by one of the Russian generals, with great 
severity. Jn revenge, he spiked the czar's cannon, 
deserted to the enemy, threw himself into Azoph, 
and defended the town with courage and ability. 

The first year of the siege concluded without any 
result; but in 1696, Peter, with that perseverance in 
any enterprise he had undertaken which marked his 
character, marched another and a still stronger army 
against Azoph. He had obtained the services of 
several foreign engineers, and thus supported, the 
siege was pushed with greater vigour. He also con- 
structed twelve vessels, carrying guns, which were 
built on the river Voroneja, and conveyed down the 
river Don to the sea of Azoph, and which contri- 
buted greatly to the eventual success of the siege by 
their successes over the Turkish fleet. At length, 
on the 28th of July, 1696, Azoph capitulated, and 
the first use Peter made of his conquest was to form 
dockyards there, and to augment his fleet, with a 
view of driving the Turks from those coasts. 

After this success, the czar continued his work of 
reformation. It grieved him to be obliged in every 
art and every manufacture to employ foreigners ; he 
therefore seiityoung Russians to different coun- 
tries, to be educated in various ways. Not content 
with this, he determined to travel, and instruct him- 
self, in order to see with his own eyes the state of 
civilisation in Europe, and to judge what improve- 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 153 

ments he thought most necessary to introduce into 
his own country. 

He commenced his travels in 1697. He passed 
through and surveyed Esthonia and Livonia, pro- 
vinces at this time possessed by the Swedes, but 
which he was anxious to annex to his own territories, 
as a means of obtaining a harbour on the Baltic. From 
thenee he went into Prussia, and then through the 
north of Germany to Amsterdam, where he took up 
his abode in the dockyard at Saardam, in North 
Holland. Here he took a miserable lodging in the 
house of one of the Dutch fishermen, and hired him- 
self as a workman to a shipbuilder. 

The first few days of his stay there he, however, 
devoted to examining the different vessels in the har- 
bour of Amsterdam ; climbing up the sides of the 
ships, and going into every part of them. He was at 
times much annoyed by the crowds who followed 
him ; and the inconvenience he suffered from them 
put him into such violent passions, that more than 
once he fell into convulsions, to which he was occa- 
sionally subject all his life. It is said that the 
fright he received when a child from the attempt of 
the strelitz to murder him first occasioned these 
convulsions ; but it is more probable they were 
a constitutional disease. They partook of the nature 
of cataleptic fits, lasted for some hours, and were 
very frightful to behold. It is probable that the 
occasionally intemperate habits of the czar may 



154 PETER THE GREAT, 

have increased his liability to these distressing at- 
tacks. The sight also of particular objects, such as 
a black beetle, for instance, always produced them; 
and the presence and soothing conversation of fe- 
males were held to be their best cure. 

When Peter commenced his labours in the ship- 
builder's yard, he took the name of Peter Timmer- 
man, by which he was known by his fellow-work- 
men; and his dress and his food were exactly 
similar to theirs. He worked very hard, and took 
his regular wages like the others, with which he 
bought his food and raiment. He also insisted upon 
his favourites, MenzikofF and Golownin, working 
with him ; but they appear never to have adopted 
the trade in good earnest, but to have treated it as a 
joke, and lived all the time in a good house, sur- 
rounded by luxuries and comforts. 

When he had made himself acquainted with the 
method of building ships in all their different parts, 
he abandoned Saardam, and proceeded on his travels. 
He next visited England, where William the Third 
received him with great cordiality, and made him 
a present of a beautiful yacht — the gift, of all others, 
which Peter was sure to prize the most. 

He reached England in January, 1698, and took 
up his abode in one of the dockyards at Deptford. 
But his pursuit of shipbuilding did not prevent his 
acquiring knowledge of other kinds. He studied and 
practised anatomy, astronomy, geography, chemistry, 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 156 

and the art of fortification ; and made himself master 
of the mysteries of various trades and manufactures. 
From England he came back to Amsterdam, and from 
thence returned home through Austria, having occu- 
pied a period of seventeen months in his extraordi- 
nary tour. ^^*" — -"-"""" 

Meanwhile his orders to his troops, who were 
combating against the Turks, which had been given 
from his hut at Saardam, had been successfully 
obeyed. General Shein and prince Dolgorouki, who 
commanded the Russian army, obtained a complete 
victory over the Turks in August, 1697, and took 
the town of Precop. 

Peter had intended to have extended his travels 
into Italy; but just as he was preparing to leave 
Vienna for Venice, he heard of a revolt which had 
taken place in his own dominions, and instantly 
hastened to quell it. Previously to his departure 
from his territories, the ungovernable strelitz, who 
were displeased at the introduction of discipline into 
the Russian army, and the various reforms of Peter, 
had entered into a conspiracy against their sovereign. 
Their plan was to set fire to part of the city of 
Moscow, certain that, as soon as he heard of the 
calamity, Peter would hasten to the spot. They then 
intended, in the confusion of the night, to assassinate 
him ; and then to butcher all the foreigners whom he 
had introduced into his army. The plot was betrayed 
to Peter by two of the accomplices. After exposing 



156 PETER THE GREAT, 

himself to great danger, by going alone among the 
conspirators, he had them seized, and great numbers 
were put to death by the most inhuman tortures. 
The vengeance of Peter upon these occasions was al- 
ways that of a cruel barbarian, for which the only 
attempt at excuse must be, the habits of the country 
and his own education. * 

This terrible execution restored tranquillity for a 
time ; but the strelitz, though terrified, were not sub- 
dued. They mutinied while serving in the army 
which acted against the Turks, and marched upon 
Moscow, where their accomplices were expecting 
them. But the friends of the absent czar were also 
on the alert. An old Boyard of the name of Romo- 
donowsky, who was much attached to Peter, and the 
Scotch general, Gordon, who was in the Russian 
service, marched against the insurgents. The combat 
was a short one ; the strelitz were vanquished, and 
taken prisoners. 

Here we approach a passage in the life of Peter, 
over which, were it not for the veracity of history, 
we would willingly draw a veil. Peter arrived from 
Vienna, and his first act was to put to death, in the 
midst of the most dreadful tortures, two thousand of the 
strelitz. He even assisted in torturing them with his 
own hands, and cutting off their heads, with a fright- 
ful degree of dexterity, of which he was very proud. 
He also obliged his nobles to follow his example, 
and become executioners ; and, mingling the orgies 



KMPKROR OF RUSSIA. 



157 



of intemperance with these barbarous cruelties, he 
drank twenty successive cups of wine, as twenty 
heads of the rebels fell by his own hands. Nor was 
this a scene which took place upon a single occasion ; 
for five months did the axe, the gibbet, and the wheel 
do their work ; and at these terrible exhibitions the 
czar was almost invariably present, and frequently an 
active agent. 

The news of there barbarities spread through the 
empire, and occasioned other revolts ; but they were 
all quelled in blood. In the following year, eighty 
of the strelitz who had taken part in the disturbances 
were sent in chains from Azoph, and were all be- 
headed by the czar's own hand. The band of the 
strelitz was dissolved by an edict of the czar, and the 
individuals composing it were dispersed through the 
Russian territories. The princess Sophia^ who from 
her prison had encouraged the revolt, from this mo*- 
ment gave up her ambitious projects, became a nun, 
and died in 1704 

These severities were followed by various amelio- 
rations and changes in the different bodies of the state. 
It was now, in fact, that Peter commenced that long 
and laborious contest, which hemantaincd during his 
whole life with his people ; contending against their 
barbarous customs, their uncouth dress, their super- 
stitions, and their social habits, all of which requied 
alteration ; but all of which were the more difficult 
to reform and alter, from the excessive ignorance 
14 



158 PETER THE GREAT y 

and consequent prejudices of those who practised 
them. 

He commenced his improvements with a reform of 
the dress of the peasants, and of the great body of the 
people. Instead of the long robes and flowing dresses 
of the Muscovites, Peter compelled them to adopt the 
different dresses of civilized Europe, which he con- 
ceived, and justly, to be more fitted for active life, 
and for the following of the various trades and manu- 
factures which he was now introducing into his 
country. He also compelled the peasants to shave 
their beards, giving them, however, the alternative 
of preserving them, upon the payment of a small im- 
post, which latter course was preferred by the ma- 
jority of them. 

Till the time of Peter, the women had been im- 
mured in the Asiatic manner ; he broke through this 
custom, and insisted upon their being admitted into 
society. He altered the current money of the realm ; 
and also reformed the calendar, and made the year 
begin on the first of January, instead of the month 
of September. He changed the titles and dresses of 
the lawyers, and even of the clergy, who were in 
consequence bitterly opposed to all the czar's im- 
provements. To these opponents of innovation were 
also added the nobles, whom the czar dragged by 
force from their idleness, and their barbarism, and 
compelled, upon pain of the confiscation of their 
estates, first to be educated, and then to be active 
and useful. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 159 

feter himself, in his journal,* sums up the different 
ameliorations which were in progress in Russia at 
this period,! by the following enumeration. He says, 
that " he had regulated the printing presses, caused 
translations to be made and printed of different books 
on engineering, artillery, mechanics, and other arts, 
as well as works of history and chronology. He 
had founded a school for the marine, and by degrees 
those for other sciences and arts ; schools also for the 
Latin, German, and other languages. He had per- 
mitted his subjects to trade in foreign countries, which 
before they could not do on pain of death ; and not 
only gave them permission to lerve the country for 
the purpose of commerce, but oDiiged them to go. 
He had instituted the order of St. Andrew, the apostle 
of Russia. And he had signed with his own hand, 
which his predecessors had rarely done, all des- 
patches, manifestoes, and treaties with Christian 
powers."J 

It was in this year that Peter lost his old and tried 
friend, Lefort, Avho died at the age of forty-six. The 
czar bestowed upon him a magnificent funeral, which 
he attended himself. In one of the drunken orgies 
to which the czar was at times unfortunately addicted, 
he hid quarrelled with Lefort, and even drawn his 
sword upon him. But sincere contrition followed 
quickly upon this outrage. He implored the pardon 

* Journal de Pierre le Grand. t 1699. t Barrow. 



160 PETER THE GREAT, 

of his friend, saying, at the same time, " I am anxious 
to reform my nation, and I cannot even reform my- 
self." This anecdote is the key to the character of 
Peter, who was frequently driven to what was evil 
by the violence of his impulses and of his passions ; 
but had yet enough of natural good feelings to be 
always sorry afterwards, and willing to make atone- 
ment for what he had done. 

In this year* also the czar concluded an advan- 
tageous truce with the Turks, which was to continue 
for thirty years. By this agreement the czar was to 
retain possession of Azoph, and of the forts dependent 
upon it. 

The darling object of the life of Peter was the im- 
provement of his marine, and he soon found that the 
sea of Azoph was too confined and remote a theatre 
for his ships to act upon. He therefore turned his 
thoughts to the Baltic, of which the shores, at least 
those portions of them which he was in want of, 
were in the possession of Sweden. Sweden was at 
this time| ruled by a youth of seventeen, who was 
yet unknown to Europe ; but who was destined ere 
long to exercise so great an authority over its des- 
tinies. This was Charles the Twelfth, who had 
lately succeeded his father, Charles the Eleventh, a 
prince who had made himself so unpopular with his 
own subjects, by his usurpations of their priveleges, 
that many of them were only waiting for an oppor- 
* 1609, t 1700. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 161 

funky to excite revolts against his son in their pecu- 
liar provinces. 

At this juncture, Augustus the Second, the new 
king of Poland, promised the Poles, on his accession, 
to recover from Sweden those provinces which had 
formerly belonged to the republic, namely, Livonia, 
and Esthonia; and the young king of Denmark, 
Frederick the Fourth, was also preparing to attack 
the Swedish monarch on the side of Holstein and 
Sleswick. Peter leagued himself with these allies ; 
a Livonian gentleman of the name of Patkul, who 
had been persecuted by Charles the Eleventh, having 
assisted greatly in bringing the different powers to 
an agreement. The czar put in motion, in the month 
of September, 1700, an army of sixty thousand men, 
and directed them against the province of Ingria. 
This province, as well as Carelia, he intended to 
restore to the Russian empire, from which they had 
been wrested by the Swedes at the time of the 
troubles in Russia, occasioned by the appearance of 
the false Demetrius.* 

It seemed as if nothing could save Charles from 

* The tyrant Boris having, in 1597, assassinated Demetrius, 
the real heir to the throne of Muscovy, a young monk took the 
name, and pretended to be the prince, who had escaped his 
assassins. He drove out the usurper ; but was in turn himself 
put to death. After him appeared three other false Demetriuses, 
whose intrigues kept the country for some time in confusion ; 
which was only put an end to by the election, in 1613, of Mi- 
chael Romanof, the grandfather of Peter the Great. 
14* 



162 PETER THE GREAT, 

being crushed by the formidable league banded 
against him ; but in a short time appearances had 
entirely changed. He first attacked the king of Den- 
mark, and in six weeks obliged him to sue humbly 
for peace. He next obliged the Poles and Saxons to 
raise the siege of Riga, while he prepared, as a 
punishment, to wrest the kingdom of Poland from its 
Saxon sovereign. He then turned his arms against 
the Russians, and marched to encounter them. The 
army of Peter, commanded by the princes Croi and 
Dolgorouky (Peter himself, with his favourite Men- 
zikoff,* being gone to Novogorod,) was employed in 
besieging the small town of Narva, when Charles and 
his Swedes came up with them. 

Although the Russian army amounted to sixty 
thousand men, and that of Charles to only eight 
thousand, he did not hesitate to attack them. On 
the 30th of November, the engagement took place, 
and never was rout more complete than that of the 
Russians. Almost the whole of their army was taken 
prisoner; and their artillery, magazines, camp, and 
provisions, all fell into the hands of the victor. The 
immediate effect of the success was the clearing 
the province of the Russians. It is said that the di- 
visions in the Russian army, and especially among 
their chiefs, as well as the accident of a violent snow 
storm driving in their faces, and which prevented 

* Menzikoff had been a pastry cook, but was raised by P »er 
on account of his abilities, and was now a prince and a general, 






EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 163 

them from seeing their enemies, contributed to their 
defeat, one of the most overwhelming ones of which 
history gives us any record. 

Jt appears as if, with the ruin of his army, every 
means of defence was taken from the czar ; but his 
inflexible constancy and firmness supplied all defi- 
ciencies. Nor indeed was the defeat of Narva the 
only misfortune which now pressed upon him. 
Shortly after that event, he heard that a revolt had 
taken place at Astracan, in consequence of the com- 
pelled change of dress, and the severities exercised 
against the strelitz. Scheremetoff was despatched to 
quell these disturbances,* while the czar himself, 
with an activity which seemed almost supernatural, 
collected and disciplined another army. At the 
same time he offered succours, both of men and money, 
to the unhappy king of Poland. That sovereign was 
reduced to the lowest ebb of distress, for Charles had 
overrun the greater part of his kingdom. 

But while Peter was preparing to resist the over- 
whelming course of the Swedish monarch, he did 
not neglect his improvements. He introduced the 
manufacture of woollen cloths into his country, and 
sont for different breeds of sheep, whose fleeces were 
said to be the most esteemed, from various countries. 
He induced artisans of different kinds to enter his 
service. He founded colleges— commenced the con- 
struction of canals — and built towns. At the same 
* 1701. 



164 PETER THE GREAT, 

time, with a view of carrying on the war successfully, 
he constructed a fleet of galleys upon the lakes 
Peipus and Ladoga, with which lie was enabled to 
annoy the neighbouring Swedish provinces, and to 
combat with success the naval forces of that power* 
In this interval, Peter had also engaged the services 
in his army of the Livonian Patkul, whose experience 
and intelligence were of great use to him. 

At length, at the commencement of 1702, the army 
of the czar was in a condition to take the field. 
Charles, who from the moment he had obtained the 
victory of Narva, held the Muscovites and their sove- 
reign in the most unmerited contempt, at this time 
was fighting in Poland ; but his general, Slipenback, 
with a considerable army, defended the provinces of 
Ingria and Esthonia. Peter sent Scheremetoff against 
him, who obtained an advantage over the Swedes 
near Dorpt. This success was followed by a naval 
one on the lake Peipus. At this time the czar heard 
that a Swedish fleet was on its way to Archangel, 
with a view to sack and destroy that town. He flew 
with unexampled rapidity to the defence of the 
place ; threw a strong garrison into it, laid the first 
stone of a new citadel, and prepared such effectual 
means of defence, that the descent of the Swedes 
there was abandoned. 

Scheremetoff followed up these successes by at- 
tacking Slipenback near the river Embac. He de- 
feated him, and took sixteen standards and twenty 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 165 

cannons. He then advanced to the little town of 
Marienburgh, on the borders of Livonia, which he 
took. Jn consequence of some alleged treachery of 
the Swedes, who defended the town, the Russians, 
upon obtaining possession of it, destroyed it, and 
took all the inhabitants prisoners. Among these was 
a young and beautiful Livonian girl, named Martha, 
an orphan, who had been educated in the house of 
the Lutheran minister of the place, and who had been 
married the day before the sack of the town to a 
Swedish sergeant, who was killed by the Russians in 
their attack. It was this humble beauty who became 
eventually the wife of the czar, and ruled the empire, 
after his death, under the name of the empress Ca- 
therine. 

The last advantage obtained by the Russians under 
Scheremetoff during this year was the taking of the 
important town of Notebourg, on the lake Ladoga, 
which surrendered to them on the 16th of October. 
At this siege, Peter himself conducted one of the 
storming parties, and mounted the breach in the ca- 
pacity of a captain of bombardiers, which was the 
military rank he had now assigned to himself. Peter 
immediately had the fortifications restored and aug- 
mented, and gave the place the name of Shlusselbourg, 
or " the Town of the Key," because he considered it 
the key of the Baltic, as well as of Ingria and Fin- 
land. 

At the conclusion of the campaign, the czar sum- 



166 PETER THE GREAT, 

moned his army to Moscow, where they were re- 
ceived with great pomp and rejoicings, and obtained 
rewards for their good conduct. The winter of 1 702 
— 1703 was occupied by the czar in the advancement 
of his internal improvements, and in preparations, both 
by sea and by land, for further contests with the Swedes. 

The first military action of the year 1703 was con- 
ducted by the czar himself; and was peculiarly re- 
markable from the circumstance of the foundation of 
St. Petersburgh having been the consequence of its 
success. The fortress of Nya, situated on the Lake 
Ladoga, near the mouth of the Neva, was of great 
importance from its position ; and Peter determined 
to obtain possession of it. He attacked it by sea 
and land. To Scheremetoff he left the task of com- 
manding in the trenches, while he himself, with his 
fleet, brought reinforcements to the besiegers, and 
prevented the Swedish vessels from assisting the be- 
sieged. While thus occupied, he captured two 
Swedish vessels, and the fortress soon surrendered. 

Upon this occasion, we find it mentioned in his 
own journal, u that the captain of bombardiers was 
created knight of the order of St. Andrew, for his 
service on this occasion, by the Admiral Gollownin, 
first knight of the order." By thus only receiving 
rewards and distinctions when he thought he merited 
them, he set the best example possible to his sub- 
jects ; and moreover showed them that it was only 
by means of real services that they could hope to rise. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 1G7 

The possession of Nya, and the successes of his 
general, Patkul, in Livonia, determined Peter to build 
a new town near the Baltic, where the river Neva 
flows into the gulf of Finland. The neighbourhood 
all around was barren and marshy ; but the quick 
eye of Peter saw at once the advantages of the situa- 
tion for his marine and his commerce ;* and on the 
27th of May, J 703, the day of Pentecost, he laid the 
first stone of his new capital, which he called St. 
Petersburgh. Shortly afterwards, he built another 
fortress, on an island at the mouth of the river, which 
he called Cronslot. and which is now the town of 
Cronstadt. While his new town was building, Peter 
was frequently on the spot, encouraging his workmen, 
and even working with them. 

He found many obstacles, from the obstinacy and 
bigotry of the people and the priests, whom he 
brought, though most unwilling to come, to inhabit 
the rising city. He, however, overcame all these 
difficulties by perseverance ; and in a few months a 
great number of habitations were completed. But 
the circumstance that most delighted the czar was 
the commencement of trade and commerce, which 
was marked by the arrival of a Dutch merchant ship, 
laden with different comestibles. This was followed 
by another Dutch vessel, and an English one, all 
three of which made the voyage for the purpose of 

* The change of the capital from Moscow also tended per- 
haps more than any thing to the civilisation of the Russians. 



168 PKTER Till. GRKAT, 

trading, during the first year of the existence of St. 
Petersburgh. 

In the year 1704, two Russian armies besieged the 
towns of Dorpt, or Dorpat, and of Narva. They 
were both taken, in fact, by the prowess of the czar, 
who flew from one army to the other, as he thought 
his presence was most necessary. Dorpt first fell 
into the hands of the Russians, who, at the same 
time, defeated the Swedish general, Slipenback, who 
was advancing to its relief. This took place in the 
month of July, and in August the town of Narva 
was taken by storm, the czar himself leading the 
storming party. Upon this occasion, Peter exerted 
himself most laudably to prevent the excesses of the 
soldiery. When he entered the town house, he 
threw his bloody sword upon the table, saying to 
the governor, " Look at the blood on my sword, it 
is not Swedish, but Russian ; this sword has saved 
the unhappy inhabitants of this town, whom your 
obstinacy in resisting without any hope of success 
had sacrificed." 

While Charles the Twelfth was electing Stanislas 
Leczinsky king of Poland, in the room of the czar's 
ally, Augustus, and causing him to be acknowledged 
by the greater part of the subjects of the republic, 
Peter was continuing his conquests in Ingria, of 
which province he appointed his favourite MenzikofT 
governor. At the same time he sent succours to the 
king of Poland ; pursued his buildiugs at Peters- 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 169 

burgh ; superintended the additions to his naval 
armaments ; and urged on his various improvements. 

In the spring of 1705, his new creation of St. 
Petersburgh and the fort of Cronslot were threatened 
with destruction by a Swedish fleet, which appeared 
at the mouth of the Neva. It consisted of twenty- 
two vessels, of fifty-four cannons each, four of sixty- 
four, six frigates, and some smaller vessels and fire- 
ships. The troops embarked on board this arma- 
ment, made a descent upon the little Island of Kotin: 
there a Russian colonel, with his regiment, which he 
had placed in ambush during the landing of the 
Swedes, attacked and defeated them. The Swedes 
returned to their vessels, leaving their dead behind 
them, and three hundred prisoners. Still the 
Swedish fleet menaced Petersburgh, while an army, 
under the command of General Meidel, marched by 
land to co-operate with it. The Swedes, however, 
were at length repulsed both by land and sea. On 
the latter element, Peter himself commanded against 
them. 

No sooner was this achieved than Peter hastened 
into Courland, anxious, while Charles was still en- 
gaged in Poland, to obtain possession of the whole 
province of Livonia. The Russian general Schere- 
metoff, marched towards Mittau, but was defeated by 
the Swedish general, Leuenhaupt, at Gemavers. 
Peter hastened to his assistance, advanced to Mittau, 
and obtained possession of that town. 
15 



170 PETER THE GREAT. 

But the rumour of the defeat of the Russians at 
Gemavers reached another part of the czar's domi- 
nions, and occasioned a revolt at Astracan, on the 
Caspian Sea. Peter sent Scheremetoff to quell it ; 
and then, having secured the citadel of Mittau, he 
advanced himself through Samogitia and Lithuania. 
At Tykoczin he met the unfortunate Augustus, king 
of Poland, and went with him to Grodno, the capi- 
tal of Lithuania, where he stayed with him till the 
end of the year, and left him, when he parted from 
him, a sum of money and a considerable body of 
Russian troops. He then proceeded, according to 
his custom, to Moscow, to inspect and continue his 
improvements, and to bestow upon his different offi- 
cers and soldiers those rewards which their conduct 
in the preceding campaign seemed to him to merit. 

The czar had hardly arrived at Moscow* when he 
heard that the victorious king of Sweden had ad- 
vanced to Grodno. On his approach, Augustus had fled 
towards Saxony, guarded by four Russian regiments. 
The absence of these had weakened the Russian 
army, and the flight of the king of Poland dispirited 
them, so that when Peter hastened to their assistance, 
he found the approaches to Grodno occupied by the 
Swedes, and his own army dispersed. While he 
was endeavouring to rally it, the Swedes obtained a 
victory over the king of Poland's general, Schullem- 
bourg. This was followed by other combats with 
*1706. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 171 

the different corps of Russians, in which the Swedes 
were also successful. 

Another misfortune now befell the czar, in the loss 
of Patkul, who, being employed as the Russian am- 
bassador to the king of Poland, had been delivered 
by the wretched Augustus to Charles, who had the 
cruelty to have him broken on the wheel as a traitor 
to his country. This base submission on the part 
of Augustus did not, however, soften the Swedish 
conqueror towards him, who obliged him to sign a 
treaty by which he abdicated the throne, of Poland; 
and he even compelled him to write a congratulatory 
letter to his rival, Stanislas Leczinsky, on his acces- 
sion. 

Just at the moment when Augustus was thus com- 
pleting his own disgrace and dishonour, fortune was 
beginning once more to smile on the Muscovites. 
MenzikofT defeated completely the Swedish com- 
mander, Meyerfieldt, at a place called Calishe. The 
successes of Charles in Poland and Saxony appear 
to have turned his head. In spite of the bravery 
which had already been shown by the Russians, and 
the evident ability and fortitude of their sovereign, 
Charles appears to have considered that his advancing 
against them would at once put an end to the con- 
test. In this spirit was the reply of Charles to 
Peter, when the latter made propositions of peace 
which were backed by the mediation of France* — 
* 1707. 



172 PETER THE GREAT, 

" I will only sign peace with him in Moscow." 
" My brother Charles," observed the czar, " wishes 
to act Alexander, but he will not find in me a Da- 
rius." Another insolent expression of Charles was, 
" With my whip only I shall be able to drive all 
the Russian wretches, not only from Moscow, but 
from the face of the earth." At the same time, in 
the arrogance of his pride, he distributed the different 
dignities of the Russian empire among his officers. 

To support these vain boastings, he left his head- 
quarters at Alt Ransdadt, in August, 1707, and ad- 
vanced, at the head of fifty thousand men, against 
Russia. In his passage through Poland, he laid 
waste the country in the most cruel manner, and 
took up his winter quarters in Lithuania. In the 
very first days of 1708, he appeared before the 
town of Grodno, near which the Russian army 
had wintered ; while the czar himself, with six 
hundred of his guards, was stationed in the town. 
Charles advanced so rapidly, and met with so little 
resistance, that Peter ran great danger of being taken 
prisoner. He had just time to escape out of one of 
the gates, and the instant after lie had passed through 
it, a guard of Swedish soldiers was posted at it. 

During the succeeding night, one of the Jesuits of 
Grodno came to the czar, and informed him that 
though the king of Sweden had obtained possession 
of the town, only a very small portion of his army 
were with him. Thus instructed the czar a?ain en- 



E MPEHOR OF RUSSIA. 173 

tered the town, and repulsed the first party of Swedes 
he met with. An obstinate contest commenced in 
the streets $ but at this instant the main body of the 
Swedish army arrived, and the Russians were finally 
obliged to leave the possession of the town to their 
enemies. The Swedes now commenced plundering 1 
the country, which they laid waste on all sides ; and 
their ravages were accompanied with circumstances 
of great and unnecessary cruelty to the peasants. 

They then advanced further into the interior, in 
spite of the difficulties presented by the passage of 
rivers and marshes, and the resistance of the Rus- 
sian troops ; and at length they arrived at Mohilow, 
on the bank of the Borysthenes, or Dnieper. 
Charles had been thus drawn on into the heart of 
the country in consequence of the well conceived 
plan of Peter, who thought that the most effectual 
and safe way of ruining the army of his enemy was 
by inducing him to march on into the district where 
he could find no provisions. In furtherance of this 
view, the czar appeared to fly before Charles, at the 
same time that he directed the Cossacks to lay waste, 
for many miles round, the tract of country through 
which the Swedes Avere about to pass. He also en- 
trenched his own army on the right bank of the 
Borysthenes, between Mohilow and Orsha, in such 
a position as gave him a free communication into the 
country, from whence he drew his provisions, and 
with the town of Smolensko. 
15* 



174 PETER THE GREAT, 

In consequence of the total want of forage, &c, 
the Swedes were obliged to canton their army at 
Mohilow, and to remain there till the month of May. 
The anxiety of Peter was now at its utmost, to 
watch the course which Charles would take when 
he broke up his camp. It was expected that he 
would march directly to Moscow, which was what 
he had originally intended : and this course would 
have obliged Peter to hazard a final struggle at once 
for the very existence of his empire. 

Charles, however, was so much dispirited by the 
obstacles he had already encountered, and by the 
prospect of famine, which threatened his army, that 
he took another line of march, namely, that of ad- 
vancing towards the Ukraine, which proceeding 
occasioned the ruin of himself and of his army. He 
was partly led to take the step also by the persua- 
sions of Mazeppa, the hetman of the Cossacks, who 
promised to meet and join him with a large body of 
that undisciplined cavalry ; and also to supply him 
with provisions. Filled with these hopes, and 
trusting to these engagements, the king of Sweden 
turned his steps towards the south, and Peter was 
too wise to offer obstacles to his progress. 

He trusted to famine, and the coming winter, and, 
above all, to the faults of his presumptuous enemy, 
to do him justice. His great object was to prevent 
a reinforcement of sixteen thousand men commanded 
by General Lewenhaupt, from effecting a junction 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 175 

with Charles. With this view he advanced against 
them at the head of twenty thousand men; and 
taking advantage of a moment in their journey when 
they were peculiarly embarrassed by the nature of 
the country they were passing through, he attacked 
them at a place called Lesno, and, after an obstinate 
•contest, which lasted three days, completely de- 
feated them. 

Misfortunes now pressed upon the undaunted 
Charles. Almost at the same moment he heard of 
the defeat of Lewenhaupt, and saw his ally, Mazeppa, 
arrive almost as a fugitive. Instead of a reinforce- 
ment of thirty thousand men, he brought with him 
only two regiments, the rest of his army having de- 
serted him when they found he intended to betray 
the czar. Charles still pressed forward with the in- 
tention of reaching Bathurin, the principal town and 
fortification of the Cossacks, which continued still 
faithful to Mazeppa; but a detachment of Muscovite 
troops, commanded by Prince MenzikofT, and sent 
on by Peter, managed to arrive there before him. 

The town submitted to them ; and in it they found 
the treasures of Mazeppa, and all the magazines and 
provisions which had been destined for the use of 
the Swedish army. 

Still the Swedes advanced ; though harassed on 
all sides by the Russians, and by the peasants of the 
country whom their cruelties had rendered bitterly 
inimical to them. During the whole winter they 



176 PETER THE GREAT, 

suffered all the miseries which famine, want of 
clothing, shelter, and fuel can inflict on human 
nature. Numbers died from these privations. 

While Charles was thus paving the way to his 
own ruin, the czar, according to his usual custom, 
had returned to Moscow, and was occupying him- 
self more than ever in all the arts of peace, and in the 
prosecution of those reforms and those ameliorations 
which were rapidly regenerating his people. No 
branch of useful science or art, no line of trade or com- 
merce was neglected by him. The laws and customs 
of the country were altered and adapted to a civilized 
state of society; and rewards of various kinds were 
liberally bestowed upon all, who, by their labours 
or their talents, had assisted the patriotic designs of 
the sovereign. Early in the spring, however, Peter 
took the field again, and prepared for the long 
delayed contest with his powerful adversary. 

In the first month of the year 1709, Charles 
formed an alliance with a horde, the most barbarous 
and cruel of all the wandering tribes who inhabit 
near the banks of the Borysthenes, the Zaporavians. 
From them he obtained succours of men and pro- 
visions ; and thus reinforced, he sat down, in June, 
1709, to besiege the small town of Pultowa in the 
Ukraine, which was well stored with provisions. 

The czar now thought that the moment was arrived 
when he might with advantage risk a contest with his 
persevering foe. As soon as he heard that Charles was 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 177 

occupied with the siege of Pultowa, he marched 
against him. On the 15th of June, he arrived in sight 
of the Swedes, the river Vorskla being between the 
hostile forces. The army of the czar amounted to 
about sixty thousand men, while that of the Swedish 
monarch had been reduced to about eighteen thousand. 
Several skirmishes took place between detached par- 
ties of the two armies; and Peter succeeded in 
throwing reinforcements into the town of Pultowa. 
This was accomplished by means of a feint of offer- 
ing battle to the Swedes, which occupied them 
while Menzikoff marched some troops without op- 
position to one of the gates of the town. As soon 
as Charles was made acquainted with this manoeuvre, 
he said, " I see that we have taught the Muscovites 
the art of war." 

In one of the skirmishes which, as has been 
already mentioned, took place, Charles was shot in 
his heel. The bone was so shattered, that he was 
obliged to undergo a very painful operation, as well 
as to keep his bed for some days. While in this 
condition, he was informed that Peter had determined 
to attack him. To have waited for this attack would 
have been considered by him disgraceful, and he 
therefore ordered his troops to march against the 
enemy ; at the same time that he himself headed 
them, carried on a litter. 

In the Russian army, General Bauer commanded 
the right wing, Menzikoff the left, and Scheremetoff 



178 PETER THE GREAT, 

the centre. Peter, who nominally acted in a subor- 
dinate capacity, flew from place to place, where the 
fire was the hottest and his presence seemed the 
most required. During the action* he received 
several shots in his hat and clothes, and in his saddle. 
Charles, on his litter, was also to be found in the thick- 
est of the fight. At length, a cannon ball killed one of 
the soldiers who carried him, and shattered the litter 
to pieces. He then made his men carry him on 
their pikes. At length, after two hours' hard fight- 
ing, the inequality of numbers began to tell, and the 
Swedes were beaten at all points. 

Charles was with difficulty placed upon a horse, 
and compelled by those around him to fly. Peter, in 
his journal, says, " The invincible Swedes now turned 
their backs, and their whole army, cavalry as well as 
infantry, was overthrown, with very little loss on 
our part."f In the flight of the Swedes, a great 
slaughter took place ; the Russians counted on and 
near the field of battle, above nine thousand corpses, 
and between two and three thousand men were taken 
prisoners, among whom were several generals. The 
subsequent misfortunes and errors of the unhappy 
Charles are well known ; suffice it here to say, that 
from this moment he ceased to be in a condition to 
menace his rival, Peter. 

On the day of this great victory, the czar dined in 

* June 27th, 1709. t Journal dp Pierre le Grand. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 179 

his tent with his generals, and also with the Swedish 
officers who had been taken prisoners, at the head of 
whom was Count Piper, the Swedish secretary of 
state. During dinner, Peter drank " to his masters in 
the art of war." The Swedish general, Renschild, 
inquired " who his majesty was pleased to honour 
with the title?" "Yourselves," replied the czar, 
" Then," remarked Renschild, " has not your majesty 
been somewhat ungrateful in dealing so hardly with 
your masters r" The czar was much pleased, it is 
said, with the compliment conveyed in this sentence. 
To his own soldiers, Peter addressed the following 
flattering and affectionate speech : — u 1 salute you, 
dear children of my heart ! O, you that I have formed 
by the sweat of my brow — children of my country, 
and who are as indispensably useful to it as the soul 
is to the body which it animates." 

Menzikoff, with a portion of the victorious army, 
was detached by the czar in pursuit of the fugitive 
Swedes. He found them encamped in the country 
of the Zaporavians, on the banks of the Borysthenes, 
under the command of General Lewenhaupt. Upon 
the first summons of Menzikoff, they surrendered 
themselves prisoners, to the number of fourteen 
thousand ; and thus ended the protracted contest be- 
tween the Swedes and Russians, which had com- 
menced under such very different auspices. 

Voltaire remarks, that, from all the battles which 
had taken place in the eighteenth century, which he 



180 PETER THE GREAT, 

reckons at two hundred, no real good had resulted, 
with the exception of the battle of Pultowa, " which 
caused and insured the happiness of the greatest em- 
pire on the face of the earth."* The immediate effect 
of the battle of Pultowa was a total change in all 
the arrangements which the previous victories of the 
Swedish monarch had obliged other sovereigns and 
other nations to submit to. In Poland, in Saxony, 
in Silesia, all that Charles had ordered, was instantly 
disobeyed. Nay, the emperor, the king of Poland, 
and the other potentates who had been obliged to 
submit to all his capricious and tyrannical wishes, 
and to lick the dust under his feet, not only took 
measures to regain their own rights, but even prepared 
to wrest from Sweden the provinces which had been 
added to it by the valour and ability of the great 
Gustavus Adolphus. 

Peter, on his part, laid claim to the provinces of 
Livonia, Ingria, Carelia, and part of Finland ; but his 
first and more generous act was the restoration of 
his ally, Augustus the Second, elector of Saxony, 
to the throne of Poland. Jn order to effect this, he 
hastened into Lithuania, and obliged the Polish troops 
and people to renew their oath of fidelity to Au- 
gustus, and then went to Thorn,f where he had the 
satisfaction of meeting that sovereign, and informing 
him that his kingdom was restored to him. 

* " Histoire de I'Empire de Russie, sous Pierre le Grand." 
t October 7th, 1709. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 181 

Stanislas Leczinsky was forced to bend before the 
storm, and to leave Poland. This matter concluded, 
Peter turned his steps to Marienwerder, where he 
concluded a league against Sweden with the elector 
of Brandenburgh, to which the kings of Denmark 
and Poland also acceded. No sooner were these 
negotiations concluded, than the czar hastened to 
Riga, the capital of Livonia, which his army was pre- 
paring to besiege. Here he landed the engineers, 
assisted himself in the preparation of the trenches, 
fired the shells with his own hand, and when he saw 
the siege so far advanced that there was no fear of 
its failure, he turned his steps to St. Petersburgh, of 
which, as he himself wrote on the evening of the 
battle of Pultowa, " at length, the foundation stone 
was really laid." 

Here he busied himself in laying down with his 
own hand the keel of a new vessel of fifty-four guns, 
and in planning fresh buildings and improvements. 
In the commencement of 1710, he attended a great 
festival at Moscow, which he had contrived himself, 
in honour of the victors at Pultowa. In the proces- 
sion he only appeard himself as a major-general, the 
rank to which he conceived his services now entitled 
him. 

In March, of the same year, the town of Elbing 

was taken by his troops. In the following month, 

Peter embarked on board his fleet in his new harbour 

of Cronslot, and proceeded to attack the town of Wy- 

16 



18*2 PETER THE GREAT, 

berg in Carelia, which he speedily took. In July, 
Riga capitulated, and the subsequent surrender of the 
towns of Pernau and Revel completed the conquest 
of the province of Livonia. To this acquisition was 
shortly afterwards added the other Swedish provinces 
bordering on Russia, namely, Esthonia, Carelia, 
and Ingria. 

Meanwhile, Charles the Twelfth, who had taken 
refuge at Bender in the Turkish dominions, was 
using all his efforts to induce the Porte to declare 
war against his successful enemy. In this he was 
at length successful, principally in consequence of the 
jealousy that power entertained of the establishments 
of the czar on the sea of Azoph, and the appearance 
of his vessels on the Black sea. In August, 3710, 
the Porte declared war against the czar, as did also 
the Khan of the Tartars, who was peculiarly disposed 
to be hostile to the Russian power, in consequence 
of the neighbourhood of his own territories to the sea 
of Azoph. This step was followed by the arrest of 
Count Tolstoy, ambassador of the czar at Constanti- 
nople, who, with his suite, was committed prisoner 
to the fortress of the Seven Towers. 

No sooner had Peter heard of these hostile de- 
monstrations than he hastened to make preparations 
to repel them. He left armies and fleets under his 
different generals to defend his northern conquests, 
appointed a regency to rule the interior of the king- 
dom in his absence, and then prepared to take him- 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 183 

self the command of the army, which was to march 
to the south. 

Before, however, he set out, he acknowledged, on 
the 6th of March, 1711, his marriage with Catherine, 
who has been before mentioned as the beautiful 
Livonian girl, of the name of Martha, who was taken 
prisoner at the sack of Marienbourgh, in 1702. Vol- 
taire says, that the czar had privately married her in 
1707, though the union was not declared till the 
period we are now treating of. Whatever may have 
been her previous conduct, to the czar she was the 
best of wives — devoted, submissive, yet cheering him 
with her good spirits, and in difficulties and adversi- 
ties supporting him with her fortitude and her wise 
counsel. It is also said, that during the cataleptic 
fits to which he was subject, she had more influence 
in calming him than any one else. At other times 
also she was of great use to him in assuaging his na- 
tural ferocity. Many of those who would otherwise 
have been the victims of the czar's anger, owed their 
pardon and their lives to her intercession. With all 
these merits she was also, it is said, so kind to all, 
that she was universally beloved ; and so mindful of 
her farmer low estate, that even her extraordinary 
elevation excited neither envy nor dislike. 

Immediately after his declaration of his marriage, 
Peter commenced his journey southward, accompa- 
nied by the new czarina, who was destined ere long 
to be the saviour of her husband and his country. 



184 PETER THE GREAT, 

The czar had made great preparations to meet the 
enemy ; but unfortunately he had not patience to wait 
for their completion. The czar's own army amounted 
to thirty thousand foot, and thirty thousand dragoons 
— and to these were to have been added fifty thou- 
sand Calmuck Tartars, and twenty thousand Cos- 
sacks ; but neither of these latter bodies of men 
arrived in time. And as Peter had detached a por- 
tion of his own troops to the eastern side of Mol- 
davia, under general Renne, his force, when he 
reached the river Pruth, did not exceed forty thou- 
sand men. 

He stopped some time at Jassy, in Moldavia ; but 
finding that his reinforcements did not arrive, and 
that it was impossible to remain with his army in a 
country which could not provide them with food, 
he determined to advance, and in consequence, on 
the 19th of June, he put his army in motion, and 
finally encamped himself on the bank of the Pruth, 
near Jassy. The vizier Baltagi Mahomet advanced 
against him at the head of an army of one hundred 
thousand men ; some say the Turkish army amounted 
to two hundred thousand men. 

In addition to all these disadvantages to the Rus- 
sians, the vizier advanced with such secrecy and 
celerity, that he was actually close to them before 
they were aware of it. The Turks crossed the river 
so far as to be on the same side of it as the Rus- 
sians, leaving their allies, the Tartars of the Crimea, 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 185 

On the other side, so that the Muscovites were now 
fairly surrounded, and by enormously superior forces. 

In this condition they were attacked by the Turks 
for three days and nights successively. The Rus- 
sians contended with great bravery ; but on the fourth 
day their ammunition became exhausted, and noth ; :ig 
now appeared to remain for them but either to fight 
obstinately till they were all killed, or to surrender 
at discretion to their enemies. 

The czar had retired to his tent uncertain and in 
despair, and the agitation of his mind had produced 
one of those dreadful attacks of convulsions to which, 
as has been before mentioned, he was subject. He 
gave the strictest orders that no one should be ad- 
mitted ; but his wife, who was about to show her- 
self worthy of being the spouse of a hero, disobeyed, 
and forced her way into his presence. She threw 
herself at his feet, and obtained from him an aban- 
donment of his insane plan of still contending with 
the myriads of enemies who surrounded him. She 
then persuaded him to try negotiation. 

In his despair he permitted Catherine to take her 
own course. She collected hastily all her own jewels 
and valuables, as well as those of the principal per- 
sons of the Muscovite camp, and sent them as pre- 
sents to the vizier and his principal officers, at the 
same time forwarding to him a letter from Marshal 
ScheremetofF, proposing- peaceful overtures. At the 
same time that she took these steps, she summoned 
a council of war of the principle Russian officers to 
16* 



186 PETER THE GREAT, 

meet in her presence, at which it was unanimously- 
agreed, that if the answer of the vizier was unfa- 
vourable, a last and desperate attempt should be made, 
with the handful of Russians remaining, to cut a 
passage through his army. 

Fortunately it was not necessary to have recourse 
to this alternative ; after some hours of frightful sus- 
pense, the grand vizier proclaimed a suspension of 
arms.* To this he was principally led, as it is be- 
lieved, by the knowledge he possessed that reinforce- 
ments were approaching the Russian army, and as 
the Russians were ignorant of this circumstance, he 
was quite certain, if he made his terms forthwith, of 
compelling Peter to submit to the conditions he might 
think proper to impose upon him. These were, the 
surrender of the port of Azoph, the exclusion of the 
czar for ever from the Palus Maeotis and the Black 
sea, and the destruction of his new harbour at Ta- 
ganroc. Also the exaction from him of an engage- 
ment, that he would not interfere in future in the 
affairs of the Poles and Cossacks ; and for Charles 
the Twelfth the guaranty of a free passage back to 
his own kingdom. 

To all these conditions Peter readily and gladly 
consented ; and the only thing required of him whicli 
he, much to his honour, rejected, was, the giving up 
to the Turks of his ally, prince Cantemir, the Hos- 

* July 21st, 1711. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 18? 

podar of Moldavia. This he at once and positively 
refused, saying, at the same time, " I would rather 
give up to the Turks all the country as far as Cursk, 
as I should still have the hopes of recovering it; but 
my word once forfeited, is irrecoverable ; it must not 
be violated. Honour is all we have peculiar to our- 
selves ; renouncing that, is ceasing to be a monarch." 
What made the conduct of Peter upon this occasion 
the more beautiful was, that undoubtedly Cantemir 
had betrayed him, and that the failure of this ally in 
fulfilling his promises had been one of the principal 
causes of the czar's misfortune. 

No sooner was the Russian army extricated from 
its perilous situation, than Peter, who found his 
health much impaired by his fatigues and anxieties, 
proceeded to Carlsbad to drink the waters. From 
hence he issued his orders for the attack of Swedish 
Pomerania, and the blockade of Stralsund ; being de- 
termined, if possible, to drive the Swedes out of the 
continent of Germany. 

From Carlsbad, Peter went to Dresden, where he 
celebrated the marriage* of his eldest son, the Czaro- 
witz Alexis, with a princess of Brunswick Wolfen- 
Duttel. The bride was a princess of merit, and de- 
served a better fate than that of being united with 
this young barbarian. All writers agree that the 

* The marriage took place on the 25th of October, 1711, and 
the princess' name was Charlotte Louisa, of Brunswick Wol- 
fe nbuttel. 



1&8 PETER THE GREAT, 

czarowitz was a man of brutal habits and manners, 
and addicted to every kind of low vice and intemper- 
ance ; and that he only consented to the marriage 
from fear that, if he did not, his father would exclude 
him from the succession. The result was such as 
might have been expected : the princess died* before 
she had completed her twenty-first year, and, as it 
has always been supposed, of the ill treatment she 
experienced from her husband. 

The year 1712 was principally employed by Peter, 
in conjunction with the kings of Denmark and 
Prussia, in combats and contests with the Swedes in 
the province of Pomerania. In these the latter were 
finally worsted, and lost a portion of their territory. 
These operations were continued in 1713, in which 
year also the czar undertook an expedition against 
Finland. 

He left his army still blockading Stralsund, and 
embarked on the Baltic in the month of May, accom- 
panied by a naval force, consisting of one fifty-gun 
ship, which he sailed in himself, ninety-three galleys, 
sixty brigantines, and fifty large flat-bottomed boats, 
on board of which were embarked sixteen thousand 
troops. He made his descent at Elsingford, on the 
gulf of Finland. The landing was a work of no 
small danger, in consequence of the rocks and shoals 

* Shortly before her death she was brought to bed of a son, 
who became eventually Emperor of Russia by the name of 
Peter the Second. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA.. 189 

on all sides. Peter, however, who commanded the 
naval part of the expedition, in his quality of rear- 
admiral, overcame successfully all these difficulties, 
and captured the town. This success was followed 
by the taking of the towns of Borgo and Abo, the 
latter the capital of the province, and by the conse- 
quent possession of the whole line of the coast. 

At Abo was a considerable public library, which 
the czar took possession of and sent to Petersburgh, 
where it formed the nucleus of the public library of that 
city. After a short campaign, Peter returned to his 
darling occupation, the building and improvement of 
his new capital, leaving the command of his troops 
in Finland to Prince Galitzin, who obtained several 
further advantages over the Swedes. While the czar 
was thus employed, he heard that the Swedish fleet, 
under the command of Admiral Ehrenschild, was 
preparing to sail to the assistance of Finland. He 
forthwith set sail with his fleet from Cronstadt, of 
which the command was given nominally at least to 
Admiral Apraxin, under whom Peter served himself 
as rear-admiral. 

They came up with the Swedish fleet at the island 
of Aland. Peter landed part of his troops on the 
island, and placed his vessels close under the shore, 
where the water was very shallow. He hoped to 
draw the Swedish vessels, who required more water 
to manoeuvre in, after him ; and in this he was suc- 
cessful. Admiral Ehrenschild thought himself secure 



190 PETER THE GREAT, 

of an easy victory ; but the well-directed fire from 
the Russian vessels threw the Swedish fleet into dis- 
order, many of their smaller vessels were taken, 
among which was a frigate of eighteen guns, on board 
of which was the Swedish admiral, who was also 
taken prisoner. The larger vessels escaped ; but the 
consternation, even at Stockholm, was very great. 
This action, so glorious to Russia, took place on the 
8th of August, 1714, and Peter returned triumphant 
to Petersburgh, having very much weakened the naval 
power of Sweden, and torn from her rule the whole 
province of Finland. 

At Petersburgh he celebrated his victory, and also 
the birth cf a daughter, whom the empress had just 
borne to him, by a series of fetes, which exhibited a 
strange mixture of civilisation and barbarism, and in 
the course of which he endeavoured to impress upon 
the nobles and the people the success of his re- 
forms, and the increased consequence and glory of 
their country. This year he also received as a tri- 
bute of his growing greatness, congratulatory em- 
bassies from the king of Persia and from the khan 
of the Usbeck Tartars. 

Towards the end of the year 1714, Charles the 
Twelfth returned from his exile in Turkey ; and his 
first care was to collect troops and money, with a 
view of carrying on the unequal contest with his 
more fortunate rival. 

The Prussians, Danes, and Russians had been for 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 191 

some time occupied in the blockade of the town of 
Stralsund, in Swedish Pomerania, and early in 1715 
they determined to attack it in a more effective man- 
ner. Into this place the rash Charles at once threw 
himself; but even his presence could not avert its 
fate. Towards the end of the year the town, being 
almost reduced to a heap of ruins, was compelled to 
surrender to the king of Prussia ; and Charles was 
glad to escape in an open boat to Carlscrona, where 
he remained all the winter. 

In the year 1716, Peter undertook another journey 
into foreign countries, accompanied by the empress. 
After visiting several towns in the north of Germany, 
he met his fleet at Rostock, and went on board of it; 
and, after a devious navigation, arrived at Copenhagen, 
where he stayed near three months, which he occu- 
pied in inspecting whatever was worth seeing in the 
neighbourhood. 

While he was here, an English and Dutch fleet 
arrived, under the command of Sir John Norris, upon 
which the czar proposed that a union should take 
place between the British, Dutch, Danish, and Rus- 
sian fleets, and that they should set sail in concert in 
pu-.suit of that of Sweden. This was agreed to, and 
Peter accordingly hoisted his flag on his largest 
vessel, and took the command of the combined fleet. 
They soon, however, found that the Swedes had 
taken refuge in Carlscrona, upon which they sepa* 
rated, and the czar returned to Copenhagen, and always 



192 PETER THE GREAT, 

afterwards declared that the proudest moment of his 
life was that in which he found himself the commander 
of the fleets of four different nations. 

Sir John Norris appears to have done full justice 
to the naval genius of the czar, for in one of his 
despatches he says — "The improvements he has 
made, by the help of English builders, are such as a 
seamen would think almost impossible for a nation 
so lately used to the sea. They have built three 
sixty-gun ships, which are every way equal to the 
best of that rank in our country." 

From Copenhagen, Peter went to Hamburgh, and 
from thence to Amsterdam, where, upon visiting the 
docks and the shipbuilders' yards, he was welcomed 
with enthusiasm by his former comrades and fellow- 
labourers. This appeared to afford him much plea- 
sure. At Amsterdam the czar left his wife, and pro- 
ceeded to Paris, where he was received* by order of 
the regent duke of Orleans with great honours. 
These, however, he escaped from as much as he 
was able, and even went to lodge in a house not at 
the court end of the town, (the Hotel de Lesdiguieres, 
near the arsenal,) in order that he might have his 
time more to himself. To the gentleman appointed 
to wait upon him, and who urged upon him the duties 
of ceremony and etiquette, he replied, "I am a 
soldier ; a little bread and beer satisfy me ; I prefer 
small apartments to large ones. I have no desire 
* 1717. 



fiMPEKOfi OF RUSSIA. 193 

to be attended with pomp and ceremony, nor to 
give trouble to so many people." Upon this speech 
he acted ; at the same time, as Lemontey* observes, 
it may be doubtful whether he would not have been 
offended if these honours had not been tendered to 
him, however much he may have liked to refuse them. 

To the young king, Lewis the Fifteenth, he was 
singularly gentle, kind, and attentive ; to the courtiers 
he was frequently rough in his manner, and he did 
not scruple to tell them that, in his opinion, the 
luxury and corruption of Paris would work the down- 
fal of their country. He made use of his stay at 
Paris to render his alliance with France more inti- 
mate, and to detach that power from its ancient union 
with Sweden. With a frankness which is unusual 
in diplomacy, he said at once to the ministers, "My 
alliance is worth more to you than that of Sweden, 
and if you will pay me the money you now give to 
that power, I will fiulfil her engagements ; and be- 
sides, I will bring you at the same time the alliance 
of Prussia and Poland." 

From Paris the czar, having rejoined his wife, 
travelled to Berlin, where his arrival appears to have 
excited considerable consternation, in consequence 
of the uncouthj" and barbarous manners of his 
suite. Tn one respect — namely, intemperance — he. 
however, suited Frederic William, the then sovereign 

* Histoire de la Regence. 

t Memoires de la Margrave de Bareith. 

17 



194 PETER THE GREAT, 

of that country, perfectly; and their projects for 
lowering the power of Sweden, and obtaining pos- 
session for themselves of her provinces, were agreed 
to in the midst of drunken orgies, which were equally 
disgraceful to the taste and habits of those who thus 
indulged in them. 

From Berlin, Peter returned into Holland, where 
he occupied himself in the more civilized pursuits of 
buying collections of pictures, cabinets of minerals, 
of natural history, anatomy, books, scientific instru- 
ments, &.c, with a view of bestowing them upon the 
Imperial Academy of Sciences at Petersburgh — an 
institution he was now forming, and of which he had 
drawn up the plan and arrangements himself. 

At length Peter returned to his country y followed 
by great numbers of artisans of various kinds, whom 
he had induced to enter his service, and who were 
forthwith turned to account by him in the instruction 
and improvement of his own more ignorant and 
barbarous subjects, and in the introduction into 
Russia of the different arts and trades of civilized life. 

We are now arrived* at one of the darkest and 
most painful periods of the life of Peter — namely, 
the catastrophe of his ill-fated and ill-conducted son, 
the czarowitz Alexis. This miserable young man 
who was now twenty-seven years of age, had always, 
whenever he dared, opposed the plans and wishes 
of his father. During his last journey, and while 
* 1717. 



! 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA- 195 

he was at Copenhagen, the czar had written to his 
son to join him there, being probably fearful of what 
he might do in Russia during his absence. Instead 
of obeying, the czarowitz fled to Vienna, where, 
however, the emperor, unwilling to displease the 
czar, would not allow him to remain, and he ac- 
cordingly went on to Naples. 

As soon as Peter heard of these inconsiderate and 
rebellious steps of his son, his anger against him, 
which had so long existed concealed in his bosom, 
broke out with violence. He wrote to him with 
menaces, and sent captain RomanzofT and Monsieur 
Tolstoy to him, to compel him to return to Russia. 
After much resistance, the czarowitz submitted, and 
arrived at Moscow on the 13th of February, 1718. 
The day of his arrival he had an interview with his 
father, and the next day Peter published an edict, by 
which the czarowitz was deprived of the succession 
to the crown- To this was appended a renunciation 
of all his rights to the throne, signed by Alexis 
himself. 

That Peter may have been right to take this step, 
in consequence of the unhappy character and brutal 
p.nd degraded disposition of the czarowitz, it is easy 
to conceive. For, as Voltaire observes, all the pro- 
gress made by Russia under the reign of Peter would 
have been of none effect had the czarowitz become 
sovereign of that country ; nay more, it was in fact 
" a question between the welfare and happiness of 



196 PETER THE GREAT, 

eighteen milions of men and of one single person." 
But what shall we say to the vindictive cruelty of 
the czar in the ulterior measures he adopted against 
his son ; measures which, as far as regarded the 
public good, were perfectly useless from the mo- 
ment the czarowitz was deprived of the right of 
succession. 

The vindictive Peter next occupied himself in 
drawing up a series of charges against his son, which 
had reference to his previous conduct. These were 
put into the form of questions to him, and he was 
required to answer them ; and was promised by the 
czar his pardon in case he answered them truly. 
This he does not appear to have done ; and he was 
in consequence still kept in confinement, while the 
czar took the opinions of the judges, the nobles, 
and the clergy, as to what degree of punishment 
they thought he ought to inflict upon his rebellious 
offspring. 

The clergy answered first, and highly to their 
credit, inclined in their opinion to clemency. Upon 
this, Peter returned to fresh interrogatories and fresh 
confessions ; and submitting them to the ministers 
senators, and generals, he obtained from those per- 
sons, who, it must be remarked, were any thing but 
free agents, a unanimous sentence of death against 
his son. 

This took place on the 6th of July,* and on the 
♦ 171S, 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 197 

following day the czarowitz died. An impenetrable 
veil hangs over the fate of this unhappy youth. 
The most commonly received account is, that upon 
hearing- the sentence pronounced against him, he 
was seized with an attack of apoplexy of which he 
died ;• but the authorities which state that he was 
privately put to death in prisonf are also trust- 
worthy ; and undoubtedly the vindictive and blood- 
thirsty feelings with which Peter is known to have 
persecuted his miserable son, even after his renuncia- 
tion of his right to the succession, cannot fail to lead 
us to consider this as the most probable version of 
the story. It is impossible to palliate Peter's con- 
duct upon this occasion, though his country and 
subjects probably profited by it. 

The remaining years of the life of Peter present 
fewer striking events than those which have been 
already dwelt upon ; and yet they were the ones in 
which the progress of his improvements in his 
country were the most rapid and the most beneficial. 
In May, 1719, he lost his last surviving son by the 
empress Catherine, who was only five years old. 

As it was upon him that Peter had intended the scep- 
tre of Muscovy to devolve in the event of his own 
death, to the prejudice of his grandson, the orphan child 
of Alexis, it now became necessary that some further 
steps should be taken with regard to the succession- 

* Mottley, Voltaire, Barrow, &c. 
t Segur, Coxe, Bruce, Busching, &c. 
17* 



198 PETER THE GREAT, 

The course he pursued upon this occasion marked 
at once the eccentricity of his own character and 
the arbitrary nature of his despotism. He issued an 
edict, by which he compelled all hi? natural born 
subjects to repair to the Kremlin at Moscow, and 
there to swear to bear true allegiance to wh mscever 
the czar might subsequently designate as his suc- 
cessor on the throne of Russia. This singular 
ceremony of swearing allegiance to an unknown 
autocrat occupied many weeks. 

On the 11th of December, 1718, Charles the 
Twelfth had concluded his stormy life at the siege 
of the fortress of Fredericshall, and his death totally 
changed the face of affairs in the north of Europe. 
A peace between Russia and Sweden now seemed 
approaching, and the mediation of the court of 
France was actively employed in bringing about the 
arrangement, and in endeavouring to obtain tolerable 
terms for Sweden, while the English fleet had united 
with that of the Swedes, in order to prevent its an- 
nihilation by that of its more powerful enemy. 

Peter was enraged by these demonstrations of 
friendliness towards Sweden, and the manner he took 
of showing his anger was in every way cruel and 
unjustifiable. He sent two expeditions under the 
command of admiral Apraxin and general Lesley* to 
lay waste the coasts of Sweden. They carried 
terror wherever they went, and even to the very 

* Lemontney, Hlstoirp do la ftpgrnce. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 199 

gates of Stockholm. The barbarities and pillage 
they exercised are such as revolt humanity ; nor was 
the czar ashamed afterwards to publish, as a subject 
of boasting, an account of these savage expeditions, 
during which, according to his own statement, 
eight towns, one hundred and forty-one castles, 
thirteen hundred and sixty-one villages, twenty-six 
great magazines, and sixteen mines were burned and 
destroyed, while great numbers of the inhabitants 
were either butchered or carried away into slavery. 
After these bloody executions the conferences of 
peace were renewed, and were finally concluded by 
the signature of a treaty on the 10th of September, 
1721, at the small town of Neustadt, in Finland, 
By this treaty Peter became permanently possessed 
of the provinces which he had already conquered, 
consisting of Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, Carelia, 
Wyburg, and the adjacent islands. When the 
French mediator remonstrated with Peter upon the 
exorbitancy of his demands, the latter only replied 
by observing, " I do not choose to see from my 
window the territories of my neighbour." Hanover, 
Prussia, and Denmark, obtained also, by the same 
treaty, advantages at the expense of Sweden. It 
was upon occasion of the rejoicings for this peace 
that the senate offered to Peter, and at length per- 
suaded him to accept, the titles of " Peter the Great," 
" Emperor of all the Russians," and " Father of his 
country." 



£00 PETER THE GREAT, 

The pacification of the north of Europe thus ac- 
complished, Peter was enabled to turn his undivided 
attention to his internal improvements, and to 
watch the progress of the different manufactures he 
had introduced. A general and improved system of 
police ; a reform in the tribunals ; a uniform and 
clear establishment of weights and measures ; the 
lighting of the towns of Petersburgh and Moscow ; 
provisions of water and assistance in case of fires ; 
new and improved manufactories of arms, of gun- 
powder, of cordage, of cloth, of linen, and of silks ; 
mills of various kinds ; a tribunal of commerce ; a 
council of mines. These were some of the improve- 
ments and arts of civilisation which Peter either 
introduced or perfected during the period we are 
now treating of. 

He also at this time commenced the great canal 
of Cronstadt, and another which connected the Neva 
with a neighbouring river. At the same time he ex- 
tended the commercial relations of Russia on all 
sides, even to China. And as in his endeavours to 
civilize his country he even descended to apparently 
trivial subjects we find him instituting and encour- 
aging public assemblies or soirees of the higher classes 
of Petersburgh and Moscow, the regulations of which 
he did not disdain to draw up himself. They are 
said to have had a highly beneficial effect on the 
manners of Russian society; which, however, ap- 
parently at this time were not very polished, as the 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 201 

penalty in the regulations affixed to misbehaviour 
of any one is that " He should be compelled to empty 
the great eagle" — i. e., to drink a vast cup or jug of 
wine or beer. 

In 1722, he published a new code of laws, in 
which the barbarous customs of the former ones were 
reformed, and rendered more analogous to the wants 
and customs of a civilized community. Jt was also 
in the same year that he instituted the great reform 
in the Greek church, of which he declared himself 
the head j* while at the same time he extended a 
wise favour and toleration to the other sects of re- 
ligion. 

This year,! Peter commenced his last warlike ex- 
pedition, which was directed to the side of Persia, 
and was intended to secure for him establishments 
on the Caspian Sea, and thereby increase the Russian 
commerce. Conquests of territory were not what 
he sought for, but ports and harbours ; or, as he ex- 
pressed himself upon the present occasion to Prince 

* Shortly after his reform of the church, one of his courtiers 
was reading to Peter a translation of " The Spectator," in which 
a comparison is instituted between Peter and Lewis the Four- 
teenth, and the preference given to the former. Peter upon 
this observed — " I do not think I merit the preference given to 
me ; but I have been so happy as to be superior to the French 
monarch in one essential point — I have forced my clergy to 
obedience and peace ; and Lewis allowed himself to be subju- 
gated by his," 

t 1722. 



202 PETER THE GREAT, 

Cantemir, " It is not land that I want, but sea." He 
took advantage of revolts and disturbances which had 
taken place in Persia, and advanced as the friend of 
the Schah Hussein, an effeminate and indolent prince, 
whom he professed to wish to defend against his re- 
bellious subjects, and his encroaching neighbours, 
who had united to depose him. 

His troops were also directed to explore the 
shores of the Caspian, and to trace the course of the 
rivers which fall into it. One of these bodies of 
troops, which had surveyed the eastern side of the 
Caspian, was treacherously cut to pieces by a tribe 
of Turcomans. This insult offered to him deter- 
mined the emperor to make a second expedition into 
those countries, and to command it in person. This 
expedition, however, failed in its object, after con- 
siderable sufferings had been endured by the Rus- 
sian troops, in consequence of the remonstrances of 
the grand seignior, who objected strongly to the 
czar's crossing his territories, which he was obliged 
to do. Peter, afraid of being attacked by the Turks, 
and so cut off from his retreat, yielded to these re- 
presentations, and returned with his army to his own 
country. He, however, left a small force, commanded 
by General Bruce, behind him, who, during the year 
1723, surveyed the Caspian sea, and encouraged the 
formation and increase of the Russian settlements on 
its banks. 

The rest of the life of Peter was occupied in hasten- 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 203 

ing on the progress of the improvements of which 
he had already laid the foundations, and in the cele- 
bration of ceremonies and festivals, which were all 
intended to reconcile the people to the new order 
of things. These were, however, unfortunately 
mingled with severities and executions of several 
functionaries, who, as Peter thought, had neglected 
their duties ; for though the czar could civilize his 
country, he failed in civilizing himself; as he showed 
throughout his life, by that greatest proof of barbarism, 
a reckless and cruel waste of human life. 

The glorious and useful reign of Peter was now 
drawing to a close. Early in 1724, his robust con- 
stitution began to give way ; and he does not appear 
to have met the approaches of disease with that 
strength of mind and courage for which, during the 
active part of his career, he had been so much distin- 
guished. The two last remarkable events of his life 
were the coronation of his wife, the Empress Cathe- 
rine ; and the marriage of his daughter Anne (subse- 
quently herself czarina of Russia) to the duke of 
Holstein. 

In the summer of 1724, the malady of the czar 
assumed a dangerous aspect ; and an abscess in the 
bladder occasioned him to suffer excruciating pain. 
His medical attendants persuaded him to abandon his 
usual activity, and to confine himself to his room for 
four months. After this imprisonment, feeling him- 
self better, he insisted, contrary to medical advice, 



204 PETER THE GREAT, 

upon an expedition to the gulf of Finland. During 
this, he exposed himself most imprudently, and upon 
one occasion waded for some time up to his knees 
in water, in order to assist in getting off a boat which 
was aground on a sandbank. 

That night he was seized with fever^ and an infla- 
mation of the abdomen, and his old complaint also 
returned upon him with increased violence. He was 
carried back to Petersburgh early in the month of 
November in a dangerous state, and from this period 
he got worse and worse. Voltaire says, that the 
pain and burning heat within him occasioned almost 
constant delirium, which perhaps may plead an excuse 
for his disgraceful conduct during this last scene of 
his life. 

During the last month of his life he endeavoured 
to drive away the thought of death by great excesses. 
He was accustomed to pass through the streets of 
Petersburgh attended by a train of musicians and 
drunken followers, with whom he stopped at different 
houses, and consumed his time and remaining strength 
in drunken orgies.* With these debaucheries were 
mingled the dread of death, and the most frequent 
and minute practices, not only of devotion, but even 
of superstition. 

His remorse respecting his conduct to his son 
Alexis was also very great ; and upon one occasion 

* Lemontey, Histoire de la Regence. 



EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 205 

he cried out, with much anguish, " I have sacrificed 
my own blood !" In the very last days of his life 
he took advantage of a moment of comparative ease 
from pain to call for writing materials ; but the 
letters he formed were so out of shape, that nothing 
of what he wrote could be discovered, except the 

words, " Restore all to ." He sent for his 

daughter, the princess Anne, to dictate to her; but 
when she arrived he was speechless, and shortly 
afterwards he fell into an agony which lasted sixteen 
hours. 

Finally, he expired on the 28th of January, 1725 ; 
and his widow, the ambitious Catherine, seized at 
once, and with great dexterity, upon the government, 
which Peter had omitted to bequeath to any one. 
On the 21st of March, 1725, the interment of Peter 
took place with great pomp and ceremony. 

Thus concluded the reign of the founder of the 
Russian empire, whose merits and whose errors 
were alike conspicuous ; but the former ought in 
our eyes greatly to outweigh the latter, if it were 
only from the circumstance that the good he did to 
his country was permanent and remained, while the 
evils produced by his eccentricities and faults were 
as evanescent as the qualities that gave them birth. 

Jt is impossible to close this account of the life of 
Peter the Great more appropriately than by the con- 
cluding lines of Voltaire's history of this eminent 
man .- — " The sovereigns of countries long civilized 
18 



206 



PETER THE GREAT. 



ought to say to themselves — If, in the frozen cli- 
mates of the ancient Scythia, a man, assisted by his 
genius alone, has accomplished such great things, 
what ought we to do who rule over kingdoms in 
which the accumulated labours of many centuries 
have rendered every thing easy ?' : 





FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

KING OF PRUSSIA. 

Frederic the Second, king of Prussia, to whom 
his contemporaries and posterity have equally 
attached the surname of " Great," was the eldest son 
of Frederic William the First, king of Prussia, and 
of Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, the daughter of 
George the First of England. 

207 



208 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

His father was principally remarkable for his ex- 
cessive avarice, for his corporal-like love of military- 
discipline, and for his attachment to a regiment he 
had formed of gigantic men, whom he was in the 
habit of reviewing and exercising in person every 
morning. His parsimony, however, did not prevent 
his governing his territories well, and encouraging 
their improvement by every means in his power ; 
and the sums he left behind him in the cellars of his 
palace at Berlin first gave his son the idea, and sub- 
sequently the power, of aggrandizing his kingdom 
by the conquest of Silesia. His love of discipline 
also, though carried to an absurd degree of minute- 
ness, was the cause of the supereminent excellence 
of the Prussian infantry, which was long considered 
the best in Europe. With reference to this occupa- 
tion of Frederic William, George the Second was 
accustomed to call him" My brother, the corporal 
of Potsdam." 

One of the worst traits in the character of Frederic 
William was his aversion to his eldest son, which 
first manifested itself at a period when the latter was 
too young to have given him any real cause of 
offence. Upon one occasion, as the princess of 
Bareith* relates, he attempted to strangle him with 
the cord of the window curtain, and subsequently 
endeavoured to have him shot as a deserter, when 

* The eldest and most beloved of the sisters of Frederic the 
Great. 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 209 

his cruelties had driven him to make an unsuccessful 
attempt to escape into England. The emperor, by 
the representations of Seckendorf, his envoy at the 
court of Berlin, prevented this catastrophe ; and the 
king, when he pardoned his son, exclaimed, almost 
prophetically, " Austria will some day find out what 
a serpent she has nourished in her bosom." 

Shortly after this occurrence, Frederic was married 
to a princess of Brunswick; but though she was 
possessed of very amiable qualities, the union was 
by no means a happy one. The royal pair never 
lived together. 

During the last years of the reign of his father, 
Frederic lived in a sort of banishment in Pomerania, 
and employed his time in enjoying the society of a 
few friends, in improving and instructing his mind, 
and in attempts at composition, both in prose and 
verse. Music also was one of his pursuits, to which, 
during the course of his long life, he continued 
much attached. He played himself in a masterly 
manner upon the flute, and no day passed over 
without some portion of it being occupied in this 
amusement. 

Frederic William died of dropsy in 1740 ; and in 
the following year, Frederic undertook, and within 
a very short time completed, the conquest of the 
fertile province of Silesia, then forming part of the 
hereditary states of Austria, but to which that power 
had no other right (as compared with the superior 
18* 



210 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

hereditary claims of the Prussian monarch) than that 
which superior strength is so apt to give in the 
political community of Europe. 

Frederic seized the opportunity of reclaiming his 
long withheld rights, when the Austrian monarchy, 
after the death of Charles the Sixth, (occasioned by 
indigestion, caused by excessive eating of mush- 
rooms,*) and the accession of Maria Theresa, was 
in an unwonted state of weakness. His military 
career commenced with the taking of Breslau, and 
the battle of Molwitz. Jn the latter he did not dis- 
play that intrepidity which afterwards so emi- 
nently distinguished him. Imagining the battle to 
be lost, he fled with precipitation, and is even said 
to have concealed himself in a windmill, which gave 
occasion to the saying (afterwards revived with still 
more effect in the case of the Duke of Aiguillon, at 
the battle of St. Cast,) that the king of Prussia " had 
covered himself with glory and with flour !"f" 
Meanwhile Marshal Schwerin had rallied the Prus- 
sian troops, which had been at first thrown into dis- 
order by the superiority of the Austrian cavalry, 
and, recovering the fortune of the day, obtained a 

* Voltaire observes upon this, " And thus a plate of mush- 
rooms changed the destinies of Europe." 

+ II s'est couvert de gloire et de farine." A story is also 
current that he went to some fortified place where the sentinels 
at the gate refused him admission, and on his declaring who he 
was, the men answered, "It is impossible, the king never 
could be here during a battle." 



KIi\G OF PRUSSIA. 211 

decisive victory. This battle was followed by the 
subjection of the whole province, and even the inva- 
sion of the other states of Austria. The Prussian 
hussars pushed their incursion to the very gates of 
Vienna. 

The next year the Prussians, led by Frederic, 
were again victorious at the battle of Chotusitz over 
the Austrians, commanded by Prince Charles of 
Lorraine. Upon this occasion Frederic sent the fol- 
lowing laconic note from the field of battle to his 
ally, Lewis the Fifteenth : " Sire, the Prince Charles 
has attacked me, and I have beaten him." This 
second victory occasioned, in the autumn of 1742, 
the treaty of Breslau, by which Austria ceded Silesia 
to the house of Brandenburgh. 

Frederic returned triumphant to his capital, the 
embellishment of which began to be one of his 
principal occupations. He collected around him 
artists and men of letters and talents of various de- 
scriptions ; for, as Voltaire observes, " he wished to 
attain to glory by all the paths that lead to it." Nor 
were public affairs neglected. He improved the con- 
dition of his various states, all of which he was in 
the habit of visiting in person. He increased his 
army, and added to his treasure. 

In J 744, Frederic again declared war against 
Austria, in conformity with a treaty he had made 
with the Bavarian emperor, Charles the Seventh, with 
the king of France, with the elector palatine, and 



212 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

with Hesse. His real reason for this step appears to 
have been his fear of the increasing' power of Maria 
Theresa, whose troops had conquered Bavaria, and 
obliged the emperor to retire as a fugitive to Frank- 
fort. In August of that year the king of Prussia in- 
vaded Bohemia and took Prague, but was subsequently* 
obliged to retreat with some loss into Silesia. The 
manner in which he united the scattered detachments 
of his army, and operated this retreat in the presence 
of a superior force, is considered as a most remark- 
able proof of military skill and science. 

During the winter, and the spring of 1745, the 
combatants had frequent skirmishes, but without any 
decisive effect resulting from them ; but, in the month 
of June, Frederic obtained a complete victory over the 
Austrians at Hohen-Friedberg. Lewis the Fifteenth 
had just acquainted his ally with the victory he had 
gained at Fontenoy ; and Frederic wrote for answer, 
" I have acquitted at Friedburg the bill of exchange 
you drew upon me at Fontenoy." 

Again, in the autumn, the military talent of the 
Prussian monarch procured for him the victory of 
Soor. The Austrian army, led by Prince Charles of 
Lorraine, attacked his camp unexpectedly ; but though 
the Prussian troops were unprepared, inferior in 
numbers, and separated by little hollows in the 
ground from one another, their discipline and bravery, 
assisted by the admirable tactics of their chief, sup- 
plied all these disadvantages, and their enemies were 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 



213 



constrained to fly, leaving six thousand of their troops 
either killed or taken prisoners. 

Meanwhile the prince of Anhalt, with another 
army of Prussians, had entered Saxony, whose elector, 
also king of Poland, had shown hostile intentions 
with regard to Frederic. Anhalt took Leipsic and 
Torgau, and completely defeated the Saxon arjny at 
Kesseldorf on the loth of December. Frederic, the 
day after this event, joined the prince, and marched 
to Dresden, from whence Augustus the Third had 
fled to Prague, while his capital opened its gates to 
the conqueror. The remains of the Saxon army, 
and the forces of the Austrians, which had advanced, 
but too late, to their assistance, retreated into Bohemia. 

The successes, and at the same time the moderate 
demands of Frederic, who only required to be con- 
firmed in the possessions which had been ceded to 
him by the former treaty, led Maria Theresa and 
Augustus, king of Poland, to petition for peace. 
Frederic acceded willingly to the proposal ; and a 
treaty was consequently concluded at Dresden in 
December, 1745. By it Frederic was left in pos- 
session of Silesia, and received besides a million of 
crowns ; and on his part he stipulated to acknowledge 
Francis, duke of Lorraine, the husband of Maria 
Theresa, as emperor of Germany. 

From 1745 to 1756 the territories of Frederic en- 
joyed the blessings of peace, which he so well knew 
how to profit by, that he eventually came to the tre- 



214 FREDERICK THE GREAT, 

mendous contest of the seven years' war with an im- 
mense increase of power, wealth, and prosperity. 
Upon the death of his father, the first admonition of 
Frederic to his ministers was the following : — " Our 
first care ought to be to procure the happiness of our 
states, and that of each of our subjects. We do not 
wish you to oppress them in order to enrich your- 
selves, but rather to have constantly before your eyes 
the prosperity of the country, at the same time with 
our interests ; for these two objects ought never to 
be separated." Nor were these vain words, but were 
acted upon by him to the utmost of his power dur- 
ing his whole reign. 

Though prudent, almost to a fault, with regard to 
money, he was ever generous in dispensing it when 
public improvements were called for. Thus, at 
various times, he drained and fertilized whole dis- 
tricts, formed roads, dug canals, built towns and 
villages, instituted manufactures, and rewarded enter- 
prising industry in all its different branches — paying 
for these works exclusively out of his own treasure. 

In 1746, Frederic commenced his reform in the 
laws and jurisprudence of his dominions. A new 
code*, called u the Code Frederic," was formed, which 
received at various times, and under different chan- 
cellors, subsequent ameliorations, during the forty 
years of the reign of its original author. By it was 
obtained, among other advantages, that of the material 
abridgement of delays in the affairs of justice ; while 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 215 

successful endeavours were also made to diminish 
the expense to litigants, and to purify the courts from 
venality. The modern Prussian jurisprudence has, 
however, been censured, and with some reason, as 
confused and imperfect in many of its details ; still, 
however, with all its faults, it is greatly superior to 
the unintelligible and absurb mixture of Roman, 
Saxon, and canon law which preceded it. 

Nor was the improvement of his military forces 
omitted by Frederic. The infantry, under his father, 
had been every thing ; the calvary had been neglected. 
Frederic William, who was present at the battle of 
Malplaquet, had there seen the imperial cavalry thrice 
repulsed by the infantry of France, and he, in conse- 
quence, conceived a prejudice against the former 
order of troops, which nothing could ever eradicate 
from his mind. 

Frederic, whose good sense led him to see the 
erroneous nature of these ideas, on the contrary, 
created the Prussian calvary, at the same time that 
he preserved in all its force, and even improved and 
augmented, the infantry. He also invented a new 
and more efficient system of tactics. Thus, by means 
of continual manoeuvres, exact discipline, and con- 
stant augmentations, his military establishment, at the 
commencement of the seven years' war, formed not 
only one of the best, but also one of the most nume- 
rous armies in Europe. 

The interval of peace which we are now con- 



216 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

sidering was also the portion of the life of Frederic 
in which he composed the greater number of his 
literary productions. It is true, the love of writing, 
and especially of writing poetry, never deserted him 
during the whole course of his long career; but 
this period of youth and of comparative leisure was 
certainly and naturally the time when he wrote the 
most and the best. It was also the time in which 
he was most connected with literary men ; in 
which his society was graced with the presence 
of Voltaire, Maupertuis, Algarotti, D'Argens 
D'Arnaud; and his academy dignified and en- 
lightened by the labours of Euler, Bitaube, Sulzer, 
Merian, and others of considerable merit. 

The memorable year 1756, by commencing 
the seven years' war, put an end to the peaceful 
pursuits of Frederic. For some years previous to 
this epoch, Frederic had been aware of the hostile 
dispositions entertained towards him by the courts 
of Vienna, Petersburgh, and Dresden ; and he had 
even discovered that there actually existed a treaty, 
arranging the division of his territories among them, 
in case of a war. Under these circumstances the 
king of Prussia determined upon forming an alliance 
with England, in order, if possible, by these means 
to preserve the tranquillity of Germany ; or, if that 
was not to be obtained, to ensure himself effectual 
assistance in case of a rupture. The French govern- 
ment became alarmed in consequence of these ne- 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 217 

gotiations, and determined upon sending an ambassa- 
dor to endeavour to deter Frederic from his inten- 
tions. "The king of France," says Voltaire, 
u wishing to retain the Prussian monarch in his alli- 
ance, sent to him the duke de Nivernois, a man of 
talent, and who wrote very pretty verses. The em- 
bassy of a duke and peer, and of a poet, it was 
thought, would please the vanity and the taste of 
Frederic. But the latter laughed at the king of 
France ; signed his treaty with England the very 
day the ambassador arrived at Berlin ; played off 
with great civility the duke and peer, and wrote an 
epigram against the poet."* 

These proceedings of Frederic naturally threw 
France into the alliance of the empress queen; and 
thus the league against him become hourly more 
formidable, consisting, as it now did, of Russia, 
Austria, France, Sweden, Saxony, and indeed of 
the whole Germanic empire, with the exception of 
Hanover. 

The troops of these various enemies were 
augmenting in number, and already approaching its 
territories : one course, therefore, only remained to , 
him, to be beforehand with them, and to carry the 
war into the hostile countries, instead of allowing it 
to invade his own. 

He, therefore, towards the end of the month of 

* Memoires pourservir a la Vie de M. de Voltaire, ecrits par 
lui«meme. 

19 



218 FREDERIC THE GREAT* 

August, having left a certain portion of his forces on 
the Russian and the Swedish frontiers of his domi- 
nions, entered Saxony with an army of forty thou- 
sand men. These were arranged in three divisions, 
which were to take different routes, and reunite at 
Dresden. They met with no opposition in reaching 
their destination, and took possession of the city and 
of the surrounding country without striking a blow ; 
while the incapable Augustus, king of Poland and 
elector of Saxony, retired with his army to the 
strong camp of Pima on the Elbe. Frederic deter- 
mined to blockade this position ; while at the same 
time he sent forward the greater portion of his army 
towards Bohemia, to meet the troops of the empress 
queen, which, under the command of general Brown, 
•were advancing to the relief of the Saxons. As 
Brown approached, the Prussian monarch hastened 
to put himself at the head of that part of his forces 
which was destined to meet him, leaving the conduct 
of the blockade to the margrave Charles of Bran- 
denburgh. 

The hostile armies met at Lowositz, on the 1st of 
October, and Frederic obtained a complete victory, 
after a very hard-fought battle. Brown, not dis- 
couraged by this reverse, still determined to attempt 
the deliverance of the Saxon army. He did make 
the attempt, and with considerable skill, but failed, 
in consequence of the difficulty found by the Saxons 
in crossing the Elbe, which they were to have done 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 219 

at a particular moment, in order to effect a junction 
with the Austrians. Brown was obliged to retreat 
into Bohemia ; and the Saxon forces, consisting of 
fifteen thousand men, capitulated, and were made 
prisoners of war. Frederic enlisted them all among 
his own troops. Augustus requested that his guards 
might be restored to him ; but Frederic answered, 
"that he could not consent to give himself the 
trouble of taking them twice over." 

Finally, the ill-fated sovereign of Saxony was 
obliged to request passports and post horses from 
the conqueror of his electorate, to enable him to 
seek refuge in his kingdom of Poland. 

While these events were passing, Marshal Schwe- 
rin, who had entered Bohemia on the side of Silesia, 
had shown great skill in his manner of conducting 
the war against the Austrian general Piccolomini, 
but no very remarkable success had attended his 
operations. 

Thus, therefore, concluded the campaign of ] 756 ; 
the Prussian army taking up its winter quarters in 
Saxony, and living at the expense of that country. 

The year 1757 commenced ominously for the 
king of Prussia, by bringing into the field a great 
increase of forces hostile to him. In addition to the 
troops of the empress queen, a large force had been 
set on foot by the different states of the empire. 
This was called the army of the circles. An army 
of Russians, under the command of Apraxin, was 



220 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

advancing against the kingdom of Prussia. The 
French, with a hundred thousand men, were upon 
the point of invading Prussian Westphalia ; and the 
Swedish government had announced its intention of 
attacking the territories of Frederic on the side of 
Pomerania. The forces in array against the Prus- 
sian monarch are supposed to have exceeded seven 
hundred thousand men, while all that he and his 
Hanoverian allies could bring into the field did not 
amount to more than two hundred and sixty thou- 
sand. 

Under these circumstances, it became the object 
of Frederic to begin the campaign with some suc- 
cessful and brilliant action, which might have the 
effect of slackening the zeal of the various enemies who 
surrounded him. But the empress queen and her 
ministers, on the other hand, were anxious to act on 
the defensive, till all their allies were ready to co- 
operate with them. Some time, in consequence, 
elapsed before any engagement took place. How- 
ever, on the 20th of April, a division of the Prussian 
army, under the command of the duke of Bevern, 
met Count Koenigsegg at the head of twenty thou- 
sand men in a narrow valley near Reichenberg, and 
drove him with considerable loss from the position 
he occupied, after a severe engagement. 

On the 5th of May, the different divisions of the 
Prussian army united near Prague, where they found 
the Austrian troops, under the command of Prince 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 221 

Charles of Lorraine, posted in a strong camp, almost 
under the cannon of the town. The next day Fre- 
deric attacked the intrenchments of the enemy. At 
first, the battle seemed lost to the Prussians, who 
gave way in various directions ; the gallant conduct 
of Marshal Schwerin retrieved the fortune of the day. 
Seeing his own regiment hesitate to advance under 
the fire of a battery, he seized a banner, and led the 
way, crying out, "He is a coward who refuses to 
follow me." The troops rushed on, the battery was 
gained, and Schwerin fell dead, still grasping the flag 
which in his hand had proved the standard of victory 
The Austrians after this were driven back on all 
sides, and were forced to take refuge in Prague, after 
a dreadful slaughter, in which perished General 
Brown, and a great number of officers of high rank. 
An army of forty-eight thousand Austrians was now 
blocked up in Prague, of which Frederic commenced 
the siege. He subsequently confided the care of it 
to Marshal Keith, while he himself advanced with 
the greater part of his army against the Austrian 
genera] Daun, who had been sent in all haste from 
Vienna upon the news of the defeat of Prague. That 
city was now upon the point of capitulating, and 
Frederic determined to hasten the catastrophe by de- 
feating Daun and his army. The king trusted too 
much to his good fortune, and he suffered for it. 
Daun had posted himself in a strong position upon 
the heights near Kolin. On the 18th of June, Fre- 
19* 



222 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

rleric attacked him :— in the commencement of the 
action the Prussians carried all before them, but were 
afterwards repulsed with great loss. Seven times 
did Frederic and his two brothers, Henry and Fer- 
dinand, lead on the attack, and as often were they 
driven back. Finally, the Prussian monarch was 
obliged to retreat with the loss of half his army. 

The battle of Kolin obliged the king to raise the 
siege of Prague. He then divided his army into two 
parts ; one of which he led himself into Saxony, and 
sent the other, under the command of his brother, the 
prince royal, into Lusatia. The latter was much 
harassed during his march by the Austrian troops, 
and lost all his baggage and a considerable number 
of men, Frederic, unjustly as it would appear, at- 
tributed these misfortunes to the incapacity of his 
brother, to whom he never afterwards intrusted any 
military command. He ordered him, with much 
harshness, to retire to Berlin ; telling him to " go 
home, and attend to his children, for he was fit for 
nothing else," 

Misfortunes now crowded upon the dismayed Fre- 
deric ; who, far from yielding to them, displayed the 
firmness, the genius, the resources of his own pecu- 
liarly undaunted mind more and more with every 
fresh defeat. It might have been expected that the 
carnage of Kolin would have put an end to the un- 
equal contest ; and the more so, as this was followed 
by a reverse sustained in Prussia by Marshal Lewald, 



KING OP PRUSSIA. 223 

Tvho was defeated by the immense superiority in 
numbers of the Russian army. Meanwhile, the 
Swedes, with an army of seventeen thousand men, 
were taking possession of Pomerania. The French, 
under the command of the Marshal d'Etrees, were 
victorious at the battle of Hastenbeck over the duke 
of Cumberland, and the Hanoverian allies of Fre- 
deric : and shortly afterwards, the Marshal de Riche- 
lieu, who succeeded d'Etrees in the command, con- 
cluded the convention of Closter Seven with the 
duke, by which the Hanoverian and Brunswick troops 
were prevented from acting again during the war- 
Richelieu pushed on, and laid waste, with circum- 
stances of great barbarity, the county of Halberstad 
and the old march of Brandenburgh, and even 
threatened the strong fortress of Magdebourg. Had- 
dick, a Hungarian general, advanced through lower 
Lusatia and the march of Brandenburgh to Berlin, of 
which he took possession for four and twenty hours, 
and laid it under a heavy contribution. The prince 
of Bevern, in Silesia, sustained a defeat in attempting 
to resist the progress of General Nadasti; and that 
province, with the exception of some fortresses, re- 
turned under the dominion of Austria. 

To complete the picture, Frederic had been con- 
demned to the ban of the empire, and was declared 
to have forfeited all the territories and dignities he 
possessed as feudatory of that sovereign tribunal. So 
certain, indeed, did his enemies feel of crushing him, 



224 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

and with him the Protestant interest in Germany, that 
a priest of Bamberg, preaching a sermon at Nurem- 
berg, before the army of the Circles, is reported, in 
the excess of his zeal and expectations, to have thus 
exhorted them : — " The victory in this contest can- 
not escape us ; for, in addition to our powerful army, 
how many sacred and blessed warriors have we not 
on our side ? The Pope, the most Christian King, 
the Holy Roman Empire, and almost every sove- 
reign ! But the Protestants, who have they to sup- 
port them ? No one at all, but the King of Prussia, 
and the good God!" Providence, however, as- 
sisting the genius of Frederic, produced a very dif- 
ferent issue to the war from that anticipated by the 
worthy ecclesiastic. 

The first favourable turn in the affairs of Prussia 
was occasioned by the Russians, after they had de- 
feated Lewald, not profiting by their victory ; but, 
on the contrary, retreating out of Prussia to Memel. 
upon the plea of the want of provisions. This unex- 
pected step enabled Lewald, after securing that pro- 
vince, to march into Pomerania, where he drove the 
Swedes before him, till, having cleared the territories 
of his master of the invaders, he found himself, be- 
fore the end of the year, the invader in his turn of 
the Swedish part of the province. 

But it was to Frederic himself that was reserved 
the glory of really restoring his own fortune. Vol- 
taire says, that at one moment his courage began to 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 225 

give way, and he thought of putting an end to his 
life. Such an act was apparently not in the cha- 
racter of Frederic, and the fact may reasonably be 
doubted. However the truth may really have been, 
he certainly eventually came to a determination more 
worthy of himself and his fame, namely, that of 
marching against the combined annies of France and 
the empire. The troops of France were commanded 
by the Prince de Soubise ; those of the Circles by 
the prince of Hildbourghausen ; together they amount- 
ed to sixty thousand men ; while the force which the 
king of Prussia was able to bring against them 
hardly consisted of half that number. 

Frederic came up with his enemies near the village 
of Rosbach, and being determined on a battle, he 
resolved to supply his own deficiency of strength by 
stratagem. He wished to draw them from their 
strong intrenchments, which he effected by pretend- 
ing a retreat. On the 5th of November, Soubise, 
afraid that the little army of Prussians, whom he 
already considered as his victims, should escape him, 
abandoned his camp, and marehed towards them. 
Upon seeing this, the king of Prussia suddenly 
formed his troops into order of battle, and led them 
to the charge, having first excited their courage with 
the following short and characteristic harangue : — 

"My Friends! — The moment is now arrived 
when the preservation of every thing that is and 
ought to be dear to us depends upon the force of our 



226 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

arms, and upon our good conduct. The time does 
not permit me to make you a long speech, which in- 
deed would be useless. You know that there is no 
suffering, no privation, no degree of cold, no want 
of rest, no danger, however great it may have been, 
which I have not shared with you all ; and now you 
see me ready to lay down my life with you, and for 
you. I only demand from you that promise of at- 
tachment and fidelity of which I myself offer you the 
example. I will add here, not for the purpose of 
encouraging you, but as a mark of my gratitude, that 
henceforward your pay will be doubled. Come on 
then, my friends, with courage and confidence in the 
Almighty." 

The unexpected and vigorous attack of the Prus- 
sians almost immediately threw their enemies into 
disorder, and a panic spreading through the ranks, 
the whole army gave way, after sustaining only one 
or two charges, and the battle became a rout. The 
French soldiers threw down their arms in order to 
fly the quicker: in spite of which six thousand were 
taken prisoners ; among whom were eleven generals 
and two hundred and fifty officers. Seventy-two 
cannons, twenty-two standards, and a great number 
of crosses of the order of St. Lewis were also taken. 
The latter the Prussian hussars, in ridicule, attached 
to their button-holes. About two thousand men 
were killed. The loss of the Prussians was very 
trifling. The approach of night saved the rest of the 
flying army. 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 227 

From this glorious victory Frederic was called 
away by the disasters, already mentioned, of the 
Prince of Bevern in Silesia. By the 4th of Decem- 
ber, Frederic had arrived near Lissa, with all the 
forces he could by possibility collect, which, how- 
ever, amounted to hardly one-third of those of the 
Austrians he found there opposed to him, under the 
command of Marshal Daun. Their army is said to 
have consisted of eighty thousand men. The next 
day the king of Prussia gave them battle, and com- 
pletely defeated them. The destruction of human 
life was tremendous ; four thousand of the Prussians 
perished, and six thousand of the Austrians : and the 
victors took near twenty thousand prisoners. 

After the battle was over, Frederick cast his eyes 
on the bloody scene of it ; and they filled with tears, 
while he cried out in a melancholy tone, u When 
will my misfortunes cease ? M 

The king passed the next night at Lissa, in the 
former quarters of the Austrians, where were repeated 
to him many of the insulting and foolish remarks 
that had been made by them with respect to him and 
his army. " I pardon them willingly," replied he, 
M all the foolish things they may have said, in con- 
sideration of those they have done !" 

The victory of Lissa was followed by the siege 
and recapture of Breslau : and by the time the dif- 
ferent armies went into winter quarters, the military 
talents of Frederic had recovered to him nearly the 
whole of his territories. 



228 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

The year 1758 opened with proposals of peace 
made by Frederic to his enemies, which were, how- 
ever, rejected. The Marshal de Richelieu commenced 
the campaign by the most inhuman ravages of a part 
of the Prussian dominions ; these were put a stop to y 
and the invaders repulsed, by the troops under the 
command of Prince Henry of Prussia. 

The first exploit of Frederic in this campaign was 
the capture of the strong fortress of Schweidnitz in 
Silesia. He was not equally fortunate in the blockade 
of Ollmutz, which he was obliged to abandon, in 
consequence of the total want of provisions in his- 
army ; Daun having, with considerable ingenuity? 
cut off all the supplies. 

After this, he turned his attention to the Russians, 
who, under the command of Count Fermor, had, 
during the winter, taken possession of his kingdom 
of Prussia, and had since advanced as far as Frank- 
fort on the Oder. When Frederic arrived on the 
banks of the Oder, he found the Russians engaged in 
the siege of Custrin, of which the citadel resisted 
them, though the town had been burned to the ground. 
The Prussian monarch obliged them to raise the 
siege ; and then, having passed the river, he compelled 
them to come to an engagement near Zorndorf. The 
forces of Frederic amounted to thirty thousand men, 
while those of the Russians are reckoned at fifty 
thousand. The battle was long and bloody, and at 
the conclusion of it both sides claimed the victory, 






KINO OF PRUSSIA. 



229 



which, however, it would appear, remained with the 
Prussians, as, in addition to the number of cannons, 
standards, and prisoners taken by them, the Russians 
were eventually obliged to retire as far as Lansberg, 
without venturing to renew the engagement. The 
battle of Zomdorf took place on the 25th of March. 

Frederic, who never had a moment's respite al- 
lowed him, no sooner saw the Russians repulsed, 
than he was obliged to hasten towards Dresden, 
leaving a part of his army, under the command of 
Count Dohna, to observe the Russians. The army 
of Maria Theresa, commanded by Daun and Laudon, 
and that of the Empire, commanded by the Prince 
of Deux-Ponts, had united, and were advancing in 
concert against the capital of Saxony, at the same 
time that a portion of their forces was employed in 
the siege of the fortresses of Neisse and Cosel. The 
king of Prussia determined first to relieve the two 
latter places ; but having advanced as far as Hoch- 
kirchen, where he pitched his camp, he was there 
successfully surprised and attacked by Daun and 
Laudon, on the 14 th of October. The slaughter on 
both sides was dreadful; but the Prussians suffered 
the most, and lost almost the whole of their baggage 
and artillery, besides the irreparable loss of two of 
their best generals, Marshal Keith and Prince Francis 
of Brunswick. The Austrians took many prisoners, 
and among others, Prince Maurice of Anhalt Dessau. 
The king himself was wounded. Frederic had been 
20 



23d FREDBfilC THE GREAT, 

aware, the day before the battle, of the danger o{ his* 
position, but was obliged to wait there for the convoy 
of provisions, without which it was impossible for 
him to move. " Sir," said Marshal Keith to him T 
" if the Austrians now leave us quiet, they deserve to 
be hanged." u It is to be hoped, then," answered 
the king, " their fear of us will exceed that of the 
gallows." After the battle, Frederic was obliged to- 
retreat to Doberschutz. 

Under this tremendous reverse, the genius and re- 
sources of Frederic, as usual, appeared to expand 
themselves. After reposing the remains of his army 
for a few days, and being joined by Prince Henry 
and a few regiments, he marched to Neisse, and the 
Austrians on his approach raised the siege of that 
place, as well as of Cosel. Imitating the undaunted 
firmness of their sovereign, the generals Golz and 
Werner obliged the enemy to evacuate Upper Silesia. 
Colberg, which had been besieged by the Russians, 
was successfully defended, and at the end of Octoberr 
the Russians abandoned entirely the new march of 
Brandenburgh and Pomerania, after having committed 
g^reat' devastation in both those provinces. The 
Count Schmettau during these events continued to 
resist Daun's attack upon Dresden. Meanwhile, the 
prince of Deux-Ponts was marching towards Leip- 
sic, and Haddick to Torgau. But General Wedel 
(who had previously driven the Swedes out of the 
march of Brandenburgh) succeeded in repulsing Had- 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 231 

dick from Torgau; while Dohna, hastening from 
Pomerania and joining Wedel, assisted in beating 
Haddick at Eulenbourg, and in forcing the prince of 
I)eux-Ponts to abandon his designs against Leipsic. 
Finally, Frederic himself returned from Silesia to de- 
liver Dresden, and obliged Daim to retire into Bo- 
hemia. Dohna again returned to the attack of the 
Swedes ; shut up their general Hamilton in Stralsund, 
and took up his own winter quarters in Swedish Po- 
merania, where, during the severe season, advantages 
continued to be obtained by the Prussians. 

Thus, by most admirable, but nearly incredible 
exertions, the campaign of 1758 concluded with the 
almost simultaneous relief of the fortresses of Neisse, 
Cosel, Colberg, Dresden, Torgau, and Leipsic ; and 
the Prussians remained also possessors of Saxony, 
Silesia, and Pomerania. 

Hitherto, the Prussian monarch had been able to 
carry on an offensive war against his enemies; but 
their resources were so infinitely greater than his, 
that the numbers of their troops, in spite of repeated 
disasters, remained nearly the same, while his were 
very greatly diminished. He was consequently 
obliged, during the year 1759, to content himself with 
acting as much as possible on the defensive. 

The campaign began with several small advantages 
on the side of the Prussians. They took the town 
of Erfurt, surprised many convoys of provisions, and 
upon different occasions made a considerable num- 



232 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

ber of prisoners. Their first reverse was the battle 
of Zullichau, in Silesia, fought on the 23d of July, 
where the Prussian army, under General Wedel, was 
defeated by Soltikof, the Russian general. The loss 
on both sides was considerable, and nearly equal, 
but the Prussians lost several cannon and standards, 
and were obliged to quit the field of battle. The 
consequence of this victory of Soltikof was his junc- 
tion with the Austrian general, Daun ; and their 
united forces then amonnted to ninety-six thousand 
men. 

Frederic, upon the first news of the disaster of 
Zullichau, hastened to put himself at the head of his 
discomfited army, which, by means of reinforce- 
ments, he made up to forty-eight thousand men. 
With this force, one half of that brought into the 
field by the Austro-Russians, the king found himself 
under the necessity of giving battle. Accordingly, 
on the 12th of August took place the bloody engage- 
ment of Cunersdorf, otherwise called the battle of 
Frankfort. The Prussians performed prodigies of 
valour, but both the superior number of the enemy 
and the situation of the ground was against them ; 
and after a continued contest of six hours, they were 
entirely defeated. The loss of the Prussians in 
killed and wounded was above eighteen thousand 
men ; that, of the Austrians and Russians above fif- 
teen thousand. The Prussians lost also all their 
artillery, and most of their generals and persons of 



W.NG OF PRUSSIA, 233 

distinction were wounded. The king had two horses 
killed under him, and his clothes were pierced with 
balls in several places. " If," said Soltikof, " I gain 
such another victory, I shall have to return alone to 
Petersburg, to carry the news of it myself." 

The activity of the Prussian monarch and his gene- 
rals after these two reverses was as remarkable as 
the want of it in the victors. Frederic flew from 
place to place, and his brother Henry did the same, 
animating their handfuls of troops, surprising con- 
voys, taking small detachments prisoners, opposing 
themselves to the advancing enemy, and recovering 
fortresses which, -at the first news of the battle of 
Cunersdorf, had capitulated. Eventually, the only 
real advantage gained by the Austrians and Russians, 
in consequence of their two victories, was the reco- 
very of Dresden, and the small territory round it, the 
remainder of Saxony continuing in the possession of 
trie king of Prussia. 

But the disasters of Frederic were by no means at 
an end. Towards the conclusion of the compaign 
occurred the fatal affair of Maxen, in which Gene- 
ral Fink, imprudently resisting the very superior 
army of Daun, lost his whole force, consisting of 
ten thousand men, who were all either killed or 
taken prisoners, — the latter being also his own fate. 
This was followed by the loss of a corps of troops 
under the command of General Dierecke, who were 
taken prisoners as they were crossing the Elbe, near 
20* 



234 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

Meissen ; and by the Swedes obtaining possession, by 
surprise, of the town of Anclam, and taking prisoner 
in it General Manteufel, who had previously, during 
the campaign, obtained several advantages over them. 

Jn 1760, Frederic and the king of England again 
offered peace to the allies, and the French govern- 
ment seemed inclined to accept it ; but the other ene- 
mies of Frederic, and especially the empress Eliza- 
beth of Russia, were determined to annihilate the 
already enfeebled monarchy of Prussia — a consum- 
mation which nothing could have prevented but the 
personal talents of its sovereign. The Russian army 
was, in consequence, increased by a reinforcement of 
fifty thousand men ; and the plan of the campaign 
was decided to be the simultaneous invasion of all 
the territories of Frederic. 

La Motte Fouquet, a Prussian commander, was 
posted near to Landshut, in a fortified camp, with the 
view of preventing the attack of the fortress of Glatz 
by the united armies of the Austrians under Laudon, 
and the Russians under Muffling. The latter deter- 
mined to dislodge Fouquet, and with that intent 
attacked his camp on five different places at once, and 
with forces at least ten times as strong as those un- 
der the command of the Prussian general. The re- 
sult was what might have been expected ; after a 
bloody combat the Prussians were defeated, and those 
who had not fallen on the field were taken prisoners, 
including the general himself. This disastrous action 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 235 

took place towards the end of July, and occasioned 
the surrender of Glatz. 

Soltikof, during this time, was marching with the 
great Russian army towards Breslau, whither also 
Laudon bent his steps, and actually commenced the 
siege of that important place. He was, however, 
soon obliged, by the superior military skill of Prince 
Henry of Prussia, to raise it, and to retreat ; and Sol- 
tikof was compelled to follow him. 

The king, who had been employed near Dresden 
in repulsing by turns the different armies commanded 
by Daun, Lascy, and the prince of Deux-Ponts, now 
hastened to the defence of Silesia. Daun and Lascy 
followed him ; and when Frederic arrived near Leig- 
nitz, he found the forces under the command of 
Daun, Lascy, Laudon, and Czernichef prepared to 
attack him. Aw r are that his army was too feeble to 
resist those of the enemies if united, he deceived, 
and divided them. Then falling on the army of Lau- 
don, on the 14th of August, he completely defeated 
it before his brother generals could come to his 
assistance. 

Meanwhile, General Hulan, who had been left by 
Frederic in Saxony to observe the movements of the 
prince of Deux-Ponts, had been obliged, in conse- 
quence of twelve thousand fresh troops having been 
brought to the aid of the prince by the duke of 
Wurtemberg, to retreat to the fortified camp of Stah- 
!en. The prince and the duke attacked him there 



236 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

and were repulsed with the loss of thirteen hundred 
prisoners. 

On the other hand, the Swedes were by no means 
inactive, but continued their attacks upon Pomera- 
nia, always with superior force, and sometimes with 
success ; while the Russian and Swedish fleet, co- 
operating with a part of the Russian land forces, 
attacked the fortress of Colberg on both elements. 
The latter were afterwards driven from before the place 
by the general Werner, who subsequently marched 
forward against the Swedes. 

The battle of Leignitz had prevented any efficient 
junction of the Russians and Austrians in Silesia. 
Soltikof retired into Poland, pursued by Prince Henry; 
while the king continued for some time with his great 
army opposed to Daun, employing himself by means 
of the most skilful, rapid, and extraordinary marches, 
in cutting off his retreat from Bohemia, in which he 
completely succeeded. Thus Berlin was left com- 
paratively defenceless, and Lascy and the Russian 
general, Tottleben, took possession of it, and levied 
heavy contributions on the inhabitants, while the 
Cossacks pillaged, and laid waste the whole surround- 
ing country, and the prince Esterhazy placed a gar- 
rison in Potsdam. A vast number of prisoners of 
different nations, who were detained at Berlin, were 
upon this occasion released. 

Frederic, upon hearing of the fate of his capital, 
hastened to its succour, but heard by the way that 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 237 

his enemies had already evacuated it. Upon this he 
turned towards Saxony, driving the army of the em- 
pire before him. In passing through the forest of 
Torgau he again found Daun and Lascy opposed to 
him. The consequence was a most sanguinary and 
protracted engagement on the 3d of November, in 
which the Prussians, after many vicissitudes, and 
only by means of almost incredible prodigies of 
valour, were successful. Daun retreated during the 
night, having lost, in killed and wounded, nine thou- 
sand men, and in prisoners eight thousand, besides 
six generals, two hundred and sixteen officers, fifty 
cannons, and thirty standards. The Prussian loss in 
killed and wounded was very little inferior to that 
of their enemies. The king and Daun were both 
wounded during the action. At six o'clock in the 
evening the Austrian general was so certain of the 
victory on his side, that he actually despatched a 
courier to Vienna to announce it. 

It is related that Frederic, after this battle, ap- 
proached during the night a fire, where some of the 
grenadiers of his own regiment were sitting, and en- 
tered, as was his habit during his campaigns, into 
conversation with them. One of them said to him at 
length, " Where were you during the battle ? Gene- 
rally, you lead us yourself where the fire is hottest, 
but this time nobody saw you, and it is not right to 
abandon us so." The king replied, with mildness, 
that he had remained at the left wing of his army, 
which had prevented him from being at the head of 



238 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

his own regiment. While speaking, the heat of the 
fire obliged him to unbutton his great coat, and a ball 
dropped out, which he had received in his clothes. 
The hole the ball had made in the great coat and 
coat was also perceptible. Upon this, the enthu- 
siasm of the soldiers was no longer to be restrained. 
They cried out, with all the tenderness of expression 
belonging in the German tongue to the singular pro- 
noun, " You are our own old Fritz ; you share in 
all our dangers with us ; we will all die for you ! " 
There is something in this simple language of the 
common soldiers more affecting and more gratifying 
than the most studied harangues or panegyrics. 

This victory enabled Frederic to send reinforce- 
ments in various directions, and thus, aided by the 
unwearied exertions of both commanders and soldiers, 
to compel his enemies, before the end of the cam- 
paign, to evacuate Silesia, Pomerania, and the Elec- 
toral March. Daun retired for the winter under the 
cannon of Dresden. Frederic remained with his 
army in Silesia for some time, and afterwards took 
up his quarters at Leipsic, which town had been 
taken and recovered during the previous campaign. 

Although the conclusion of the year 1760 saw 
Frederic victorious, his adversaries, in the commence- 
ment of the following year, had increased hopes of 
being able very shortly to put an end to the war by 
his entire destruction. His resources in money, they 
were aware, were cruelly diminished, his various ter- 
ritories completely ruined and laid waste, and his 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 239 

immense losses in soldiers not to be repaired. Under 
these discouraging circumstances, the firmness and 
resolution of the Prussian hero alone saved him from 
the fate which in expectation was anticipated for him. 

The campaign of 1761 was a defensive one on the 
part of Frederic. By rapid marches and great activity 
he contrived for the most part to keep the superior 
forces of his enemies at bay. For a considerable 
time he prevented the junction between Laudon and 
Daun with the Austrian army, and that of the Rus- 
sians led by Butterlin ; but at length the latter, having 
bombarded Breslau, succeeded in passing the Oder 
and joining the Austrian forces. Upon this the king 
of Prussia, with his small army, took possession of 
the strong camp of Bunzelwitz, which he fortified so 
successfully, that though his enemies surrounded 
him, and attacked him with one hundred and thirty- 
two thousand men, they were never able to dislodge 
him; till at length they were forced themselves to 
separate, from the want of the means of subsistence. 

In Poland, general Platen, who had been sent there 
by Frederic for the purpose of destroying the Rus- 
sian magazines, defeated general Cherepow, who 
with three thousand men accompanied a large convoy 
of provisions and military stores. He took the 
general and eighteen hundred of his men prisoners, 
and burnt the stores. 

This advantage, however, was fully counterba- 
lanced by the loss of the fortress of Schweidnitz, 
_whieh was taken by assault, and with it the garrison, 



240 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

consisting of about three thousand men. The pos- 
session of this important place enabled the Austrians 
for the first time to take up their winter quarters in 
Silesia. 

The campaign concluded with the reduction of 
Colberg by the united arms of Russia and Sweden. 
That fortress had resisted successfully all attacks 
both by sea and land, but was finally reduced by fa- 
mine ; the king of Prussia and his generals having 
made great efforts, though in vain, to throw provi- 
sions into the place. 

It was during this year that Frederic sent embas- 
sies to the grand signior and the khan of Tartary, 
with the view of inciting the one to make an irrup- 
tion into Hungary, and the other into Russia. The 
Austrians were much alarmed at these negotiations, 
which perhaps was one of the causes that in the fol- 
lowing year rendered them the less unwilling to 
make peace. 

It was also during the course of this year that a 
plot was laid to carry off Frederic and deliver him 
to the Austrians. A Silesian gentleman, the baron 
de Warkotsch, and a priest were the contrivers of it. 
From the undaunted courage and natural security of 
Frederic, the success of such a plan was easy and 
almost certain. Fortunately a letter was intercepted 
which betrayed the whole scheme, and the king of 
Prussia was reserved for a far different destiny. 

The hardships and privations endured by Frederic 
during these latter campaigns were unusually great. 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 241 

He frequently slept on the bare earth, and always 
shared the labours of the meanest soldier when in his 
hurried marches. One morning, on setting off, he said 
to those around him, u Be so good as to take a truss 
of straw with you to-day, that I may not be obliged 
to sleep on the hard ground, as I was last night !" 

In the beginning of 1762, fortune again began to 
smile on Frederic. Elizabeth, empress of Russia, 
his most inveterate foe, died on the 5th of January, 
and was succeeded by Peter the Third, the most 
enthusiastic admirer of the Prussian monarch. The 
new emperor immediately concluded a peace with 
Frederic, to which Sweden also acceded, and his 
troops were commanded to leave the Austrians, and, 
uniting themselves with the Prussians, to obey im- 
plicitly the orders of the king. 

The great object of Frederic was now to regain 
possession of Schweidnitz, and the plan of the cam- 
paign was arranged accordingly. Several successes 
on a small scale were obtained by the Prussians in 
the early part of the year ; and at length, on the 16th 
of August, a considerable one was gained by the duke 
of Bevern at Reichenbach. He resisted most gal- 
lantly the combined attacks of several Austrian gene- 
rals. Their troops were eventually repulsed on all 
points, and a considerable number of them were 
either killed or taken prisoners. 

On the 10th of October, the king of Prussia ob- 
tained possession of Schweidnitz by capitulation, and 
21 



242 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

took prisoners in it, two hundred and eighteen offi- 
cers, and eight thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
four common soldiers. Frederic, after this exploit, 
hastened into Saxony to the assistance of his brother, 
Prince Henry, but did not arrive in time to partake 
in the glory of the victory of Freyberg, which had been 
already achieved by the prince. On the 29th of 
October his troops attacked the allied forces of Aus- 
tria and the empire, who gave way after a consider- 
able slaughter, and fled beyond the Mulde, losing 
numerous prisoners, cannon, and standards. The 
prince subsequently pursued them into Bohemia, and 
sent forward General Kleist, who pushed his ravages 
to the very gates of Prague ; ruined the great Austrian 
magazines at Saatz ; and turning to Franconia, levied 
contributions upon Bamberg, Nuremberg, and Eich- 
stadt, in which towns he also placed Prussian gar- 
risons. 

By this time the allies were grown weary of the 
war ; and finding that the marquis of Brandenburgh 
(as they contemptuously styled him) was not, as 
they had expected, to be crushed with facility, they 
at length consented to a truce, which was concluded 
on the 24th of November. This was followed by 
negotiations for a peace, which ended in the treaty 
of Hubertsbourg, signed on the 13th of February, 
1763. By this treaty it was stipulated that the dif- 
ferent powers should retain possession of the terri- 
tories they were possessed of previously to the war. 
Thus, after a seven years' struggle, a vast waste of 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 243 

blood and treasure, and an immense accumulation of 
human misery, nothing substantial was gained on 
either side. The allies, however, sat down under the 
disgrace of defeat from an inferior foe, while Frederic 
had acquired for himself those unfading laurels, which 
continue still to encircle his name. 

Nothing is more remarkable in the character of 
Frederic during this unequal contest, in which his 
kingdom and his very existence were perpetually at 
stake, than the power he possessed of turning his 
thoughts to other and far different subjects. He was 
constantly employed, as in a time of profound peace, 
with his literary pursuits, his correspondence with 
his friends, and the composition of his verses. At 
the moment when his fortunes were the lowest, just 
before the battle of Rosbach, he wrote a long poet- 
ical epistle to his friend, the marquis d'Argens, and 
another to Voltaire. It is upon record also, that the 
evening before a battle, a general, who came to him 
for orders, found him occupied in correcting a strophe 
in an ode he was composing ; and the numerous 
compositions, both of prose and verse, in his works, 
which bear the dates of the years we have just been 
considering, prove satisfactorily that his mind was 
capable at one and the same moment of uniting the 
arts of peace with the conduct of war. 

From the year 1763 to the time of his death, Fre- 
deric devoted himself assiduously to the internal im- 
provement of his dominions, and to the healing of 
the deep wounds inflicted on them by the ravages of 



244 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

the seven years' war. In these pursuits he was emi- 
nently successful. 

In 1773, Frederic increased his territories by the 
accession of a part of Poland, which devolved to him 
by the treaty for the partition of that kingdom, agreed 
upon between the empress Catharine of Russia, Ma- 
ria Theresa, and the Prussian sovereign. Undoubt- 
edly this appropriation of countries, which in no way 
belonged to the sovereigns who took possession of 
them, was most unjust and indefensible. At the same 
time it must be allowed, that the temptation to Fre- 
deric must have been peculiarly great, as he thus ac- 
quired, without striking a blow, a most advantageous 
frontier for his hereditary states. Much however as 
we have seen of late years of the cutting and carving 
of different states, to please and advantage the great 
powers of Europe, nothing has ever been done so 
glaringly unjust as the first partition of Poland. 

In 1778, Frederic once more for a short time took 
the field at the head of an army; and, as on former 
occasions, again, for the purpose of resisting the 
overweening pretensions of the house of Austria, and 
for defending the liberties of the Germanic body, and 
the rights of its princes from imperial encroachment. 
On the death of Maximilian Joseph, elector of Ba- 
varia, (which occurred December 30th, 1777,) his 
nearest relative, Charles Theodore, elector palatine, 
had taken possession of his territories ; but had been 
subsequently persuaded by Austria to acknowledge 
them as fiefs of the empire, and of Bohemia. The 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 245 

object of Austria was to take a portion of Bavaria for 
herself, and to leave the remainder in the hands of 
the elector, merely as a tributary to the imperial court. 
In consequence of these plans, the imperial troops 
took possession of the electorate. Frederic was, as 
may be supposed, by no means an unconcerned spec- 
tator of these proceedings. He had espoused the 
cause of the duke of Deux Ponts, the next heir to 
the elector Charles Theodore; and having vainly 
endeavoured to restrain the Austrian rapacity by 
means of negotiations, he finally declared war against 
that power in 1778. 

Though now considerably advanced in years, he 
led, as of old, his troops in person ; and entered Bo- 
hemia at their head, where he found himself opposed 
to a large army, commanded by Lascy and Haddick. 
Prince Henry, who with another army had entered 
Saxony, where Laudon was opposed to him, endea- 
voured afterwards to effect a junction with his brother, 
as had been agreed upon between them. This he found 
to be impossible, in spite of a very masterly march, 
which he made into Bohemia, and almost to the very 
gates of Prague. At the end of the campaign he 
again retired into Saxony, while Frederic retreated 
very skilfully from the banks of the Elbe, still pre- 
serving his winter quarters on the borders of the ene- 
my's country. During this campaign nothing occur- 
red but skirmishes, which almost invariably turned to 
the advantage of the Prussians, whose cavalry was 
found to be very superior to that of the Austrians. 
21* 



246 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

The commencement of the ensuing campaign of- 
fered no remarkable events, and it was early ended 
by the peace of Teschen, which took place in May, 
1779. By this treaty Austria was obliged to desist 
from her unjust pretensions, and to recognize the 
succession of Bavaria in the lawful family. This 
short and bloodless war, Frederic was accustomed to 
call " The lawsuit, in which he went like a bailiff 
to levy an execution." 

Thus was the king of Prussia successful in his last, 
as he had been in his former wars, though with less 
bloodshed. Nor was he less so in the concluding 
public act of his reign. Subsequently to the peace 
of Teschen, the emperor, Joseph the Second, had 
formed a plan for obliging the elector of Bavaria to 
exchange his territories for the Austrian Netherlands, 
which were to be erected in his favour into the king- 
dom of Burgundy. Frederic, who regarded this pro- 
ject as an infraction of the peace, and also of the 
constitution of the empire, formed in July, 1785, a 
Germanic confederation, consisting of the principal 
princes of the empire, for the purpose of preventing 
the designs of the house of Austria. The emperor 
was so much intimidated by this union, that he gave 
up the design. 

The glorious and useful life of Frederic the Great 
was now drawing to a close. In the beginning of 
1786, his health began to give way, under the in- 
crease of infirmities, and the perpetual wear and tear 
of the anxieties and labours of government. He sank 



K1XG OF PRUSSIA. 247 

gradually, but with firmness, into the tomb, still to 
the last performing the functions of a sovereign. The 
day before his death, he saw his secretaries as usual, 
and signed the necessary letters, though from extreme 
feebleness his signature presented nothing apparent 
but a blot of ink. That evening he also gave the 
countersign to the garrison ; and the next morning 
(August 16, 1786,) at twenty minutes past two in the 
morning, he had ceased to exist ; " And one of the 
greatest characters'" (to use the words of Mirabeau) 
u that ever occupied a throne was no more, and one 
of the most perfect moulds that nature ever formed or 
organized was broken !" 

Frederic's disorder was a complete giving way of 
the frame, which ended, as is frequently the case, in 
dropsy. He was buried in a metal coffin in the cha- 
pel at Potsdam, without ornament — save the sword 
which had won so many battles, and which was 
placed upon it When Napoleon came to Potsdam, 
he carried away the sword, which was subsequently 
lost. One hero should not surely have thus violated 
so interesting a relic of another. 

Frederic the Second, king of Prussia, was un- 
doubtedly one of those extraordinary men, " whose 
deeds" (as Lord Bolingbroke expresses it, when 
speaking of John, duke of Marlborough,) " performed 
in the compass of a few years, are sufficient to adorn 
the annals of ages." 

He perhaps united and concentrated in his single 
person more of the qualities of a great man, than any 



248 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

hero, statesman, or monarch, of whom we have accu- 
rate knowledge in modern times. As a warrior, his 
fame does not rest alone upon his victories, though 
they were both numerous and decisive ; nor upon the 
provinces he conquered, though these at present form 
the most fertile part of the Prussian empire; but 
upon his unshaken constancy and firmness during re- 
verses ; upon that heroism of mind during adversity, 
which he possessed in so eminent a degree, and 
which is a quality the more admirable on account of 
its peculiar rarity. During the seven years' war, 
when, after incredible exertions, he had been baffled 
on all sides by the preponderating power of that tre- 
mendous league, which threatened annihilation to his 
kingdom, and almost produced it — when his own 
family joined with the whole nation, and besought 
him to make peace on any terms — he alone remained 
inflexible and unintimidated — and he left Berlin, to 
beat the French at Rosbach, and the Austrians at Lissa. 
Undoubtedly the love of war and conquest, at all 
times a most unjustifiable propensity in any sove- 
reign, was too inherent in the nature of Frederic. He 
was anxious to increase his territories, and he was 
proud of his skill, as a leader. Voltaire informs us 
that, in the history of the war of Silesia, written by 
Frederic, the following statement of his reasons (in 
addition to his hereditary claims) for commencing 
that contest was given, but which Voltaire expunged 
from the work : — "Ambition, interest, and the desire to 
make myself conspicuous, got the better in my mind 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 



249 



of all objections ; and the war was resolved upon."* 
This was the resolution that influenced his whole 
life. Having once tasted the cup of victory, he be- 
came too ready again to drain the intoxicating draught. 
To which must be added, that from that moment, he 
found himself in a position from whence it was diffi- 
cult to recede. His new acquisitions of territory were 
not tamely acquiesced in by other powers. He was 
forced to defend them by the sword ; and hence arose 
the prolonged butchery of the seven years' war. It 
is indeed painful to think how much more benefit 
Frederic, with all his talents, and all his industry, 
might have conferred upon his people, had his life 
been one of peace instead of war. Even the great 
improvements and ameliorations he actually did effect 
in his different states, and in the condition of his sub- 
jects, only make us the less willing to excuse the 
time, the blood, the treasure he wasted in war ; which 
might all have been so advantageously employed in 
promoting the happiness of mankind. 

As a legislator and a statesman his merits are well 
known : in the character of the former he gave to his 
country a new, and in many points of view, an admi- 
rable code of laws ; which during the whole course 
of his long reign was invariably administered with 
the strictest justice and impartiality. In that of the 
latter, he raised the Prussian monarchy from insigni- 
ficance to importance, and gave it a rank among the 
nations of Europe, which its narrow limits had be- 
* Memoires pour servir a la Vie de M. de Voltaire. 



250 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

fore denied to it ; while in both capacities he was 
remarkable for his toleration in matters of religion. 

Such was Frederic as a sovereign, 

" The state's whole thunder born to wield, 
And shake alike the council and the field." 

Let us now consider him as a philosopher and a 
literary character. 

The extent of his knowledge and information in 
the different departments of history, poetry, and sci- 
ence, was truly surprising; considering how short 
and hurried were the periods he could ever have given 
to study. In science especially his acquirements ex- 
cited admiration ; as it is well known how intense is 
generally the application necessary for those who 
wish to make themselves masters of the abstruser 
mysteries of philosophy. 

As, how r ever, there is no human character without 
its blemishes, so was that of Frederic deformed by 
one, which the admirers of his fame can never cease 
to lament, liis studied and notorious neglect, and 
even ridicule of religion, began early in his career, 
dimmed his brightest glories, and shed a hopeless 
gloom over his end. But though no adequate ex- 
cuse can be offered for so unpardonable a fault — un- 
pardonable above all men in a sovereign, whose ex- 
ample has so wide-spread an effect above all men — 
still some palliation in his case may be found from 
the nature of his education, and fiom the circum- 
stances of his early friendships. Religion was incul- 
cated on him by his stern father; and inculcated, not 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 251 

after the mild persuasions of the Gospel, but with 
blows, and every species of ill-treatment ; while his 
intimacy with Voltaire, whose long life was one series 
of persecutions against Christianity, strengthened, if 
it did not originate, an early taste for ridiculing those 
sacred doctrines which were only connected in his 
mind with the unjust severities of his barbarous parent. 

As an author, Frederic stood, among kings at least, 
on a very proud eminence. In prose, his history of the 
house of Brandenburgh must always be considered an 
excellent work ; while the fine passages which occur 
frequently in his poem upon u The Art of War," prove 
that he possessed the genius of a true poet. Writing, as 
he always did, in French, to him a foreign language, our 
astonishment is raised to see how much he wrote, and 
is still further increased to see how much he wrote well. 

Frederic has often been accused as deficient both 
in natural feelings and in humanity. That the first 
of these imputations was false, maybe proved by the 
facts of his constantly dutiful and affectionate be- 
haviour to his mother — of the sincerity of his grief 
at the death of his eldest sister — of the assiduity of 
his attentions and kindnesses to his dying friend, 
Jordan — and of the greatness of his anxiety for the 
safety of the queen and the royal family after the bat- 
tle of Cunersdorf. In like manner it is impossible to 
doubt his humanity, after we are told of the unusu- 
ally small number of criminals executed during his 
reign, and of his invariable reluctance to sign death- 
warrants. Many other anecdotes might be brought 



252 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

forward in support of his character on this point; 
more especially his extreme kindness to the French 
who were wounded at Rossbach. 

His parsimony, of which so much has been said at 
different times, was surely justifiable, when we reflect 
that without it he would never have been able to per- 
form those great actions which have raised his name 
so high in the page of history ; nay more, that with- 
out it, he could not even have saved his paternal do- 
minions from misery and destruction. For it must 
be remembered that as Prussia is a poor country, and 
therefore able to pay very few annual taxes, the sove- 
reign of it can never be in a condition to defend his 
rights, unless he has a considerable treasure always 
in his coffers. Under these circumstances economy 
was certainly allowable, if not praiseworthy. 

Even in supporting pain, Frederic was superior to 
other men. Often, during the pressure of acute dis- 
eases in his old age, did he order himself to be put 
on horseback, and then, with an appearance of calm 
serenity, proceeded to review his troops. Sometimes 
on his return home he fainted, in consequence of the 
excess of anguish he had endured during the day. As 
he lived, he died, with unshaken fortitude, leaving be- 
hind him a reputation of genius and greatness of mind, 
such as in hardly any age has fallen to the lot of man. 
He was indeed one, to use the language of the poet y 

" Quern tu, Dea, tempore in omni, 
Omnibus ornatum voluieti excellere rebus." 



ANECDOTES 

OF 

FREDERIC THE GREAT. 



To his officers in general, Frederic's behaviour was 
not only most condescending, but truly delicate, kind, 
and one might almost say gallant, as is shown in nu- 
merous cases besides. 

Though general Saldern fell into disgrace for his 
resolute refusal to plunder the Saxon palace of Hu- 
bertsburg, yet, when the war was over, he soon re- 
covered the favour of the king, who esteemed him 
for his cultivated mind as well as for his professional 
merit. One day, Frederic, being in an ill-humour, 
said something that was disagreeable. Saldern made 
no reply, but his look showed that he was deeply 
mortified. The king remarked this, and immediately 
made amends by these kind words ; " One ought to 
have patience with old people ! And yet you are of- 
fended with me, my dear Saldern!" The general 
died in 1785, as governor of Magdeburg. A monu- 
ment has been erected to him at Witten. 

Major-general Driesen was, in 1754, commander of 

the prince of Prussia's regiment of cuirassiers, with 

which the king was so pleased at the review, that he 

ordered two thousand dollars to be paid forthwith to 

22 253 



254 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

the commander. On the following day, when Driesen 
went to thank the king for his present, Frederic took 
him kindly by the hand, and said : — " Your zeal in 
my service must be rewarded. This is but a trifle ; I 
will do more for you, my dear fellow." On the 
same day, the king informed him, in a letter written 
with his own hand, that he had conferred on him the 
post of Amtshauptman of Osterode, with a pension 
of one thousand dollars. At a later period, the king 
was informed that in the regiment of Dohna at Wesel, 
there was a youth, who was an illegitimate son of 
general Driesen, and promised to make a clever 
officer. As his birth closed the door to promotion 
against him, the king legitimatized him, gave him a 
captaincy, and introduced him to his father, who 
knew nothing of his existence. Young Driesen died 
on the high road to military distinction, of eleven 
wounds which he received in a skirmish, to the deep 
regret of the king. 

Gaudi, born in 1725, at Spandau, was aid-de-camp 
in the seven years' war to general Hiilsen, nay, he 
may be said to have commanded in his stead, as he 
guided the gallant veteran by means of his military 
talents and tactical knowledge. Frederic knew this, 
and had placed Gaudi, whom he learned early to re- 
spect, under Hiilsen for that purpose. The king heard 
that Gaudi kept a diary of military events, and one 
day ordered Hiilsen to procure him a sight of it. The 
general forgot the injunction, and it was not till next 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 255 

day, when he again went, accompanied by his aid- 
de-camp, to the king, that he recollected the com- 
mission. Luckily, Gaudi had the book about him : 
Hulsen asked for it, and put it in his pocket. The 
owner learned accidentally that the king wished to 
see it. He was under no little alarm, for the book 
contained free opinions on many military operations, 
and on the king himself. On the affair of Hoch- 
kirch, for instance, he had remarked : — " Here Fre- 
deric committed a most stupid blunder." He im- 
plored the general to return the book ; but Hulsen, 
apprehensive lest he should incur his master's dis- 
pleasure, refused to do so, and delivered it to the 
king. Frederic kept it several days, which Gaudi 
passed in continual apprehension of being either 
arrested, sent to a fortress, or even broke. At length 
the king returned the book to the general, saying, 
with much kindness of manner, " I thank you. I 
am extremely pleased with Gaudi's diary. Tell him 
so, and say that I consider him as a very clever 
officer ; only 'tis a pity that he knows this himself." 
After the battle of Rossbach, in which the king 
pronounced a correct assertion made by him to be 
false, Gaudi kept aloof from him. He subsequently 
fought in Hiilsen's corps at the battles of Kunersdorf 
and Torgau. After the peace, he was promoted to 
be major-general and commandant of Wesel. Time 
completely extinguished the old grudge. In 1781, 
he paid the king a visit of some weeks, and, when 



266 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

he asked the general if he still recollected the battle 
of Rossbach, he delicately replied : " I remember no- 
thing of that day but that your majesty covered your- 
self with glory." He died at Wesel in 1788, as lieu- 
tenant-general. 

In August, 1761, when the king had taken post 
with his army in the vicinity of Schweidnitz, orders 
were given to throw up a redoubt in the churchyard 
of the village of Jauernick ; and a great number of 
men belonging to different regiments were sent to 
work at it under the superintendence of one officer. 
In turning up the earth, the men found an old pot. 
Pulling it out very carelessly, they broke it at the 
top, and perceived that it contained money. They 
were ready to seize it, when the officer drove them 
away, and took charge of the pot himself, saying that 
the money which was in it should be fairly divided 
among them when they were relieved. The men 
were content. The pot was deposited in the church- 
porch. The officer retired, pulled off his stock- 
ings, put on his boots over his bare feet, poured the 
money out of the pot unobserved, put his stockings 
at the bottom of it, and covered them with a small 
quantity of the pieces of coin. As soon as the men 
were relieved, they demanded the pot of the officer, 
who immediately produced it, poured out the money, 
and showed them that so far from containing nothing 
else, it was partly filled with old rags. The soldiers 
loudly declared that they were cheated, which pro- 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 257 

voked the officer to threaten them with his cane. 
Just at that moment the king arrived to inspect the 
redoubt. He inquired what was the matter; the sol- 
diers related the whole affair, and the king desired to 
see the money and the rags in question. An old gre- 
nadier had the latter in his hand. u Your majesty," 
said he, u these are not old rags, but a pair of worsted 
stockings, with a name upon them." At the same 
time he showed them to the king, who distinctly per- 
ceived the name with which they were marked. The 
king ordered the officer to be called, and asked what 
was his name. The officer mentioned the same that 
was on the stockings. " Well, then," said his ma- 
jesty, " it is clear that the money belongs to you. 
Your ancestors must have buried it here. There is 
the name upon the stocking, as fresh as if it was only 
just put into the pot. I'll tell you what, my lads," 
said he, turning to the soldiers ; " let the officer 
keep his money ; I will have the pot filled with two- 
groschen pieces, and these shall be equally divided 
among all that are here. Are you satisfied ?" — " O 
yes, your majesty," was the unanimous reply : and 
well they might be, for the coins in the pot were old, 
small, and partly copper. By this expedient the king 
extricated the officer from the dilemma in which he 
had involved himself, and left him mute and covered 
with shame. 

One day, in exercising a regiment, a captain com- 
mitted several blunders. The king was the more 
22* 



258 FREDERIC THE GREAT, 

surprised, because he knew the officer to be a man of 
extraordinary punctuality. The mistakes were so 
egregious, that at last they affected the whole regi- 
ment and its movements. Frederic could contain 
himself no longer. " In the devil's name," cried he, 
angrily, " what are you about to-day ?" The colo- 
nel of the regiment, hearing this exclamation, rode 
up to the king. '-Your majesty," said he, "will 
assuredly overlook any mistakes made by the captain 
to-day." — " Why so ?" — " Poor fellow ! just before 
he came upon parade, he received news of a heavy 
calamity." — " A calamity ! what calamity ?" — " His 
only son was drowned the day before yesterday." — 
" Almighty God ! Yes, that quite alters the case." 
Thereupon the king immediately commanded " Halt !" 
rode up to the captain, gave him his hand, and said in 
a tone of emotion : " My dear captain, 1 have this mo- 
ment learned what a misfortune has befallen you. I 
heartily sympathize with you. The exercise must 
certainly be arduous, nay, impossible, for you to-day. 
If you think that it will tend to the comfort of your- 
self and your wife, go to your country seat, and stay 
as long as you please. Your lieutenants have cer- 
tainly learned sufficient to command the company in 
your absence." 

" Send me immediately one of your boldest and 
cleverest officers," said the king one day to general 
Werner, commander of the regiment of brown hus- 
sars. " Permit me," said the general, " to ask your 



KING OF PRUSSIA. 259 

majesty for what purpose you want this officer ; as 
that would decide my choice." — " I want him to pa- 
trol beyond the enemies' encampment, and to ascer- 
tain the precise position of a second corps, about 
which I can obtain no accurate information." The 
king added : " Let him come to me at seven this eve- 
ning." Exactly at that time the officer was announced 
and immediately admitted. Frederic scrutinized him 
with his piercing eye from head to foot, and seemed 
to be somewhat surprised, for the officer's exterior 
promised no great things. He was small and weakly ; 
and the accent of the broken German in which he 
introduced himself betrayed the Hungarian. The 
king nevertheless gave him his instructions, pointing 
out to him on the map the road that he was to take, 
and what places he was to go to. The officer lis- 
tened with great attention to all the directions of his 
majesty, and retired to carry them into execution. Fre- 
deric, however, conceived that he had not thoroughly 
comprehended him; and on the following day, when 
he saw general Werner, he expressed himself dis- 
contented with his choice, and apprehensive that this 
officer would scarcely be able to perform the com- 
mission to his satisfaction. " I will answer for him, 
your majesty," replied the general with the utmost 
confidence. " Not one of my officers is so well 
qualified for the business as he." — li Well," rejoined 
the king, " we shall see." 

Two days passed and the officer had not returned, 



260 FREDERIC THE GREAT. 

On the third day the time for giving the parole had 
arrived, and the king was standing amidst his gene- 
rals, when he came galloping up. Frederic motioned 
him to go into his tent, whither he desired several of 
his generals, and among them Werner, to follow him. 
The officer stepped up to the table on which the map 
was spread out, and began, in his broken German, but 
in a straight-forward manner, to describe the road 
which he had pursued, at the same time pointing it out 
on the map. It led further and further into the ene- 
my's position. But when he represented that he had 
pushed on to a small town which he named, the king 
suddenly interrupted him, saying : " I'll tell you 
what ! you are not right in your head to-day. Why, 
that is the head-quarters of general Daun." — "To 
be sure it is, and I've been there," replied the officer, 
somewhat nettled at the king's unbelief, and then 
stated the force of the enemy in that neighbourhood. 
On retiring, he observed in his vexation to general 
Werner : " The old one not right in his head to- 
day." The king heard it, smiled, and said : " Yes, 
1 am right enough in my head, but you are not." 

Very soon afterwards some deserters arrived. The 
king was glad of this circumstance, and ordered them 
to be brought to him immediately, that he might 
ascertain what credit was due to the report of the 
hussar officer. To his surprise, all his statements 
were confirmed. He now sent again for the officer, 
and rewarded him according to his merits. 

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